Mobile Suit Gundam SEED: Redemption and Revolution
by Arcaner
Summary: In the mist of war, Scion Kazuma, must seek out allies to end the war that threatens to cuase the exstinction of the Natural or Coordinator race. But, can one who helped cause the biggest atrocity of the war bring peace to a war he helped inflame?
1. Prologue

_**-Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Gundam Seed, Gundam Seed Destiny and other anime series mentioned in this fan fiction. So don't bark at me**_

_**-Notes from the Author: This story is based on a individual in the time of Kira and Lacus and so on and so forth. Not going to give anything away so I'll just get to the writing part. **_

_**Please Enjoy and Review. I can't write better if I don't get those. **_

_**Prologue: The Rise and Fall**_

_**C.E. 70,**__** February 14 **_

All around them brilliant shades of red, brown and yellow engulfed them. Their machines were shook violently from the after shock of what they just unleashed. Three Moebius mobile armors were being shook aggressively by the deadly explosion that wiped out all the ZAFT and most if not all of the EA forces as well. The machines were floating away from the now dying explosion and surprisingly were still together as a squad was to be, though the ships were battered.

"Oh dear god…..help us." One of the mobile armor pilots spat out between gasps from the shock of the blast and what had just occurred.

"I don't think god is going to help us…" The squad female, the only female, remarked.

"Will you all just shut up! It was a mistake! Some kind of malfunction!" The squad leader said as he sat staring wide eyed at the debris that floated around them. He gripped the main control stick of his battered machine as he tried to regain his composure. He had to for the sake of his squadron.

"What do you mean mistake! What mistake? We did what they told us to do! We followed the mssion prefectly! There was no mistake!" The youngest man spoke quickly as panic began to fill him.

"Axle if you don't shut the your damn mouth, I'll shoot you down!" He commanded firmly, he was not in the mood to deal with a baby, though he found himself shaking involuntarily.

Silence filled the com as they listened to the quiet around them. The quiet they made. The squad leader pulled out the mission brief from under his pilot seat and double checked everything twice before throwing it at the center screen in front of him.

_Why? Why did they have to do that? WHY?_

"Damn it…..damn it!"

"Scion, squad leader? Shouldn't we head back to safety or something?" The female, called Violet, spoke rather calmly.

"Yeah…..Is everyone's machine space worthy?" The leader barked out after gaining an incredible amount of instant self-control.

"Space worthy?" Axle remarked sarcastically, trying to make some humor of the scene before him.

"Damn it Axle! You know what I mean! Can everyone's ship get back to the nearest EA controlled air space!"

"Are you two done bickering? My machine should be able to get back to base." Violet said as calm as could bea big change from the mess she was moments ago.

"I ditto that, I should have the fuel and my machine is in so-so condition." Axle said finally regaining himself and knocking the jokes off.

"Good…prepare to move out."

"Roger!" The two squad mates said together.

The group of mobile armors then fired their engines and began the long trek back to the closest EA controlled space. They traveled silently not daring to speak to each other as they contemplated what had occurred. A whole colony gone for reasons they couldn't explain. For reasons they didn't want to hear. This was not how their first mission was to turn out like. Not for them.

A mistake? Malfunction? Or just an act of war? The thought held in their minds and made them all sick in their stomachs.

As the machines silently flew through space they came upon something that shook them to their very core. It was at first glance a large chunk of a building that had somehow gotten through the explosion but on closer inspection one could make the words 'Elementary School'. They all looked at their watches almost simultaneously to find that it was well within school hours.

"Oh god...oh god, oh god, oh god!" Violet began ranting as she gripped her helmet to try and push the thoughts of how many children they had killed...and this was only one school.

"Violet calm down! Just stay calm!" Axle tried to say to sooth the frantic Violet

"Stay calm! Look at that Axle! It's a school for kids, KIDS! They're all dead now!"

"It wasn't our fault! We won't know what happened until we get back to base!"

"We attacked didn't we! We did this! We had to!"

Axle decided not to say anything more and Scion wasn't speaking either. In the squad leaders cockpit sat the man clutching his shoulders with wide eyes that stared at open space.

_How many did we kill? How many innocents? How many people died! I didn't want this, this isn't how it's supposed to be...it shouldn't have been this way._

Silence once again filled the com as they flew foward in an unknown direction. Several minutes passed by before Violet spoke.

"Scion?…Sir?" Violet spoke softy of the com-link. She seemed to have regained herself though Scion didn't know how long that would last her.

"Yeah? What is it?" As the squad leader he felt obligated to show that he was calm and collected. Or to appear so and he needed to redeem himself for the outburst from before. Though he still couldn't comprehend what had happened nor did he want too. Mostly he was in shock.

"It was a mistake right? Some sort of malfunction right?"

"..."

"Sir!"

"I don't know damn it! I just don't know!"

"I'm sorry sir...I..."

"Right now, lets just worry about getting back to base.."

"...Yes sir...but"

"...It's a long flight…set your machines to auto pilot and lets get some rest."

The women needed nothing more, in all honesty she didn't want to know right now. Not in this place, not at this time, and maybe not at all.. She set in the coordinates and set the machine into auto-pilot and tried to get some sleep.Scion and Axle followed suit.

But knowing what they had done sleep would never come. Deep inside they struggled with the thought of it being an accident and wondered if it truly was as such. They wondered what really might have happened, they wondered that if their worst fears were realized what would they do about it? What could they do?

Behind the three Moebius was a field of debris from an EA attack that would never be forgotten. Scatted about was pieces clumps of metal and dirt. Large puddles of water were quickly freezing into large ice blocks. Though it was not this that scared them, it was the things you couldn't see, the parts that was blown into non-existence. The countless lives that they had shattered and the sins they had committed.

They all kept their heads low as they left the scene of the destroyed Junius Seven….

* * *

**Author's notes: **Okay so that's the prologue. I hope this gives you readers enough reason to return and see what happens next. This is my first Fan-Fiction but give what ever you think this deserves. I'll continue writing anyway :P 

This Prologue is short and I know it but it's just to get people wondering about things a bit and to get them to read more. This is only the beginning of this story and I hope you all weill enjoy this story.


	2. The Rise

**Chapter 1: _The Rise and Fall_**

**Part A: _The Rise_**

Legend

_Italics_ shows character thoughts

**Word** shows Date

**Timeline: C.E. 61, December 21**

He was eight years old, born on a colony called Copernicus, he grew up among both Naturals and Coordinators alike and for a time nothing seemed to set the two apart. In the early years he actually liked the strange Coordinators that were born like any other child and then taken into labs and changed, but the boy never really saw what made them so different. They looked the same after all and he was only eight, turning nine in five days.

"Hey, Scion over here!" A over excited boy shouted out while flailing his hands to get his attention.

"What is it!" Scion ran as quickly as he could over to his friend to see what was up.

"My mom just told that the schools are going to let coordinators go to school! That means all of our buds that are coordinators can go to class with us!"

"That's awesome!" Scion yelled out as he jumped up to meet a high five from his young counterpart.

"Yeah, that means Yuki can go to school!"

"She'll be happy about that. She's been having to go to school in another district because of that law. We can all play on the same playground and everything!"

"Yeah. I'm going to go find her and tell her!"

"Okay! I'll tell everyone else!" Scion's high pitched shout came. He then took off to tell everybody he knew.

The news spread like wild fire and in truth many people don't really mind it to much for Copernicus was a colony full of tolerant people of the Coordinators and their abilities, at least to the children the parents seemed tolerant. Scion lived in an area that was one of the slowest to accept the coordinators into the school system but gave in to pressure from parents and other school districts.

So Scion accepted them, he had friends that were both Natural and Coordinators. All the boys played the same sports and did their homework. They all talked about the same things and laughed at how girls looked with their ponytails and dresses. Everything seemed perfect for the eight year old Natural.

**Timeline: C.E. 66, March 14**

The boy was thirteen years old and had high honors in all his classes up until the past year of his schooling when the Coordinators began taking everything from him, the awards, teachers praise, the acknowlegdement from the other kids, and most of all...his pride.. The boy began to hate the Coordinators for what they were. The boy was now beginning to see the difference between the two races, the differences between Naturals and Coordinators.

"Hey, Axle, look at this!" Scion yelled to his best friend. They had known each other since the first years of school. He was a Natural as well

"What is it Scion?" The Auburn haired boy replied.

"That test today! Guess what I got on it!"

"What?"

"An ninety-five!"

"So?"

"Everyone one get a grade like that or a bit lower…except them."

Axle instantly knew where this was going. Until a few years ago Scion was one of the smartest kids, even compared to the Coordinators…that was until this past year when they started doing everything better then him and all the naturals. On top of that Scion had started to become jealous of the Coordinators, they played better in sports and did better on the tests. Everything Scion worked really hard on to achieve a Coordinator took without so much as trying half-heartedly.

"They got perfect scores huh?"

"Yes! It's not fair!"

"Scion it---"

They both turned to a boy who was walking along the sidewalk as they were. He was one of the Coordinators that 'always' got top scores in everything….Everything. Axle didn't like the coordinators either, but it was a more subdued hate since he himself was not a high acheiver like Scion was. To him, the Coordinators were block that would forever hold him back.

_Why are they so much better then us? _Scion gritted his teeth as the thought went through his mind.

"Hey you! Coordinator!" Scion yelled at a passed boy he knew.

The brown haired boy turned to greet the two and knew them as two of this class mates.

"Hi. What's up?" The boy answered, ignoring the Coorindator comment.

"Come on, Scion leave him alone." Axle cautioned as Scion walked over to the new boy.

"Nothing much. Say, what did you get on your test today?" Scion asked quickly as if he was rushed for time.

"A perfect score!" The Coordinator replied happily

"Yeah? Well I got an ninety-five! Why did only the Coordinators get perfect scores!"

"I don't know. Maybe you need to study more?" He replied innocently

_Bastard…_

Axle gasped as Scion threw a straight punch at the coordinator sending the boy to the ground on his back. He yelped and stared open eyed at the boy that had hit him.Scion just couldn't take it anymore, his mother had got unto him when he stopped bringing home awards and getting calls from teachers praising his great work. He tried to tell her that it what was happening with the Coordinators but she just got angry and told him that that was no excuse and that he should try harder...and he did but it wasn't enough. All the hard work he did and they still did better then him with half the effort.

"Why…why did you do that?"

"Shut up Coordinator! Just shut up!"

Scion delivered a solid kick to the boys right leg with his left and the boy again cried out before trying crawl away from his attacker.

"You coordinators think you are all better then us! Getting the best scores and making the teachers like you so much! You're not better then us, you're just freaks! Freaks that should never have happened! Ever!"

He was ran over to the now standing Coordinator and attempted to punch him in the face again but found his punch stopped by the boy he had tried to hurt. His eyes opened wide as the boys hand that had suddenly appeared on his wrist tightened it's grip causing intense pain. The boy pulled Scion towards him where he delivered a swift knee blow to his gut. Scion collapsed to the ground clutching his stomach from the blow. He gasped for air as it left his body when the boys knee contacted his belly.

"It isn't nice to hurt people when they didn't do anything to you." The boy said coolly as he backed away.

"Don't act like you're so right! You Coordinators are an abomination! You don't belong here!" Scion spat out between large gasps for air. His eyes glared at the boy as he walked away from Scion leaving him and Axle alone.

"Scion are you okay!" Axle said after rushing to his freinds side, he had heard that they were stronger then Naturals and was to afraid to help. It was part of the reason Axle wasn't so open like Scion...he was scared of them.

It was the beginning of the young boys selfish hate and jealously for the coordinators. They did everything better then him, he was the top of his class until they came in. They beat him in sports and in class. In awards and in achievements. They were the only people he couldn't overcome. He hated them for what they took from him. To the boy it just wasn't fair.

**Timeline: C.E. 69, May 18**

He was sixteen now. Grown up and ready for something new. Something that he could do better then any Coordinator. For this he needed training away from Coordinators and so the young man joined the EA military as a mobile armor pilot. With him went his life long friend Axle. They joined for many reasons, Scions being to get better at piloting then Coordinators and Axle not being able to get into college and he also wanted to join the war effort since it seemed that war was unavoidable now.

Scion sat in a large room with the recruiter who was reviewing his background, evidently some Coordinators had tried to get into the EA as spies and such so individuals were looked over one by one. The air in the room was still and no sound but the typing of a keyboard, by some women who was busy at work, and the sound of a printer...printing. Suddenly the recruiter, who was sitting in a nice big chair, stood and took something from the printer.

"Scion Kazuma."

"…." Scion nodded to his superior.

"Height is 5'11''. Weight is 152 lbs. Hair color is…" He looked at Scion to confirm the hair color. His blonde hair had grown out and the bangs to on the left side of his face were short while the farther right you looked they got longer until his right eye was covered up. A popular hair style where he came from.

"Blonde. Age is sixteen. Eye color….?" the recruiter again looked up at Scion. With a sigh Scion moved his bangs that covered his right eye and showed the red eyes he had. The doctors said it was some pigment discoloration...never saw anyone else with that discoloration though.

"Red…Mother is living at home, named Allure Kazuma. Father is unknown?"

"My father died a few years after he married my mother. Cancer I think. My mother wanted a child but never got pregant so she asked for a sperm donor so she could have a child. I don't know who he is or if he's still alive."

"Hmmm…..Very well then. As of now you are a trainee and will be undertaking training in the piloting of the Moebius mobile armors that make up the back bone of our army. You will receive exact instruction via email. Dismissed."

Scion stood and saluted the man before turning on his heel and leaving the room. He had done it, he was going to be a pilot and the best if he had anything to say about it!

"I'll do it…I'll be a better pilot then any Coordinator! I don't care if they have those mobile suits. I'll shoot everyone down that gets in my way." He said proudly only to get a few strange looks from a passing mechanic and a some giggles from a group of uniformed women.

And so he began his training, he proved to be one of the most capable pilots the EA had. He learned so fast that he graduated in only six months after the beginning of his training and went on to work on engineering. There he found a liking to writing OS's (Operating Systems).

...It was not long after that the EA declared war against ZAFT and EA began it's war preparation...

War came and in truth Scion looked forward to showing the Coordinators that they weren't better then him at his new found talents. He would show the world what Naturals could do with hard worked and determination.

**C.E. 70, February 13,**

Scion sat in the briefing area awaiting his new squad that surprisingly he had been appointed to lead. His hard work had finally paid off. He sat in a formal fashion in his EA uniform and awaited his men and the officer that would brief them.

The silent hiss of the compartment doors could be heard as a women walked into the room and took a seat after saluting to Scion, which he in turn stood and returned.

"Ensign Violet Karakas reporting for duty sir!" Came her quick reply.

"At ease."

Another hiss and to Scions surprise Axle walked in and looked to Violet who nudged her head in Scion's direction. He then turned on his heels and saluted. Axle had just graduated, He had passed all of his exams but his last, which was fighting against other pilots, but with the war and all he was being sent anyway.

"Ensign Axle Maverick reporting sir!" His reply was hinted with sarcasm

"Sarcasm isn't welcomed in the army soldier!"Scion replied curtly. He had grown into liking the military way of life. You were close to those who you spent time with and formal with others. It was how it should be.

Axle straightened up and sat down and almost immediately after that the door slid open once more to allow a high ranking official inside. He walked to the desk on the far side of the room and went through a folder he carried under his arm. After checking it he sat down and looked at the three pilots.

"Lieutenant Scion Kazuma" The commanders voice full of pride and force, obviously used to barking at others.

"Yes sir!" Scion quickly said as he stood and saluted, Axle and Violet soon followed.

"Your mission is very simple but extremely vital. You and one other squadron are to escort the mobile armor carrier dubbed 'Roosevelt' to it's predetermined coordinates. The ship holds a vital supply of mobile armors and supplies for repairs and so on. This is one of the many vital carriers that must be kept safe from enemy attack. This mission may sound simple but once on the battle field things are sure to complicate. You must also watch out for allies who are trying to dock for repairs. Do you understand the mission?"

"Yes sir! We are to protect the mobile armor carrier Roosevelt to it's destination. We are to keep it from harm and allow our allies to reach it for fuel and repairs! Mission understood."

The commander nodded and stood. He studied the three individuals in front of him and then saluted.

"Ensigns you are dismissed! I would speak to Lieutenant Scion privately."

Axle and Violet saluted and turned on their heels and left the room quickly to prep themselves for combat.

"I hear you are one of the top guns of the young generation Lieutenant. From your records I'd say you were a coordinator if I didn't know for a fact that your mother was a Natural."

Scion stood stiff as a board while trying to hide the anger from the insult that was unknowingly given.

_I'm nothing like those genetic freaks! All the skills I have today I got through hard work! Coordinators just get them without ever learning how…like animale insticts...they are animals._

Scion snapped back to life by the sound of foot steps. The man now stood next to him with their shoulders aligned with both of them looking in the opposite direction.

"This attack will show them what the EA is capable of and pilots like you will help make it happen. Do your best Lieutenant…..Dismissed."

"Yes sir!"

Scion turned completely around and walked to the door where he turned again and saluted his commanding officer before stepping out of the room.

_I will show them. I will show them. I will show them!_

The battle was to commence in roughly one day. The target was Junius Seven.

* * *

­­­­­­­­­­­­_**Authors Notes: **_Not sure how this chapter will fall out. Some of the people liked it and others thought it was okay. I like his chapter myself. I figured I'd go through some important moments in his life and show you how he changed instead of just giving you a bio and so on. That would be no fun right? 

So this is chapter one. The beginning of this mans journey, eleven months before Kira gets into the fray. I hope you all will come back and see how things go for Scion Kazuma and his POV for the Bloody Valentine event.

This chapter was a bit short, but it was setting up for longer and better chapters.


	3. The Fall

_**Chapter 1: The Rise and Fall **_

_**Chapter 1 Part B: The Fall**_

Legend

_Italics_ shows character thoughts

**Word** shows Date

**February 14, C.E. 70  
**

They sat on the mobile armor carrier, called 'Roosevelt', in the pilot prep area. There the pilots of the two squadrons, besides Violet who was given a separate suiting up room, got dressed into their pilot outfits and did their own thing to prepare themselves for combat.

Scion was already dressed and sitting on a bench thinking silently as were the other pilots.

_I can do this. I've worked for a year to get to this point. Besides, the mission is as simple as could be. Protect the ship from any hostiles. No objectives and no changing of plans. Just protect, that's all. Any coordinator that comes near the Roosevelt will be shot down by me! I'll show that Naturals can be better then Coordinators!_

He stood up and walked into out of the room and into the launching bay, where the mechanics where prepping the catapult and all the machines of the pilots. Scion walked to his personal Moebius and climbed into the cockpit.

"Okay, lets run over the OS real quick. Normally a Moebius didn't need an OS because of its simplicity, compared to mobile suits, but Scion decided that it could only help him in combat to have a little edge. He even installed one unto Axle's and Violets machine.

His fingers went steadily over the keyboard checking the numerous systems in the machine but all in all it took roughly one minute to go over it all since the mobile armor didn't need much working with. It was just a fighter plane after all. Scion also had it outfitted with heavy missiles that were used for enemies on your tail, thus they could be fire backwards if needed.

"Are you ready for flight Lieutenant? If you are we can launch your squad first. Once we are into enemy space that is." The chief mechanic spoke through the com.

"…Yes, though my machine feels a bit heavier then normal." Scion responded calmly before strapping himself in securely. He noted that the man seemed oddly on edge, as if something was up.

Soon Axle along with Violet and the other squad were ready to go. All of them gave the green light and were prepared to launch.

"So, we go first eh? Lucky us…" Came Axle's unsteady voice over the com.

"Just lock on and fire…oh and move around a lot."

"Thanks Violet…."

"Anytime."

Any normal day that would have been funny but Violet was being very serious when she spoke to Axle. He had no combat training in the simulators unlike her and he wasn't a genius pilot like Scion either and that was a mystery in itself, she had never heard of someone passing flight training with top honors early and certainly not in six months time. He was either really lucky or something else entirely. She would find out soon enough.

"Okay you guys. Knock it off and lets get going okay? We are fixing to launch." Said the young squad leader.

"Yes sir!" Came over the com from the two pilots. They were ready.

Alarms went off and everyone began to scramble as the commander of the ship sent everyone to level-one battle stations. Scion sat in his Moebius as it was being lowered unto the catapult for launch.

"Launch when ready."

**3...**

**2...**

**1...**

"Lieutenant Scion Kazuma, launching!" As soon as the words came from his mouth he could feel the G-forces hit his body as he was launched from the ship and into the deep space around Junius Seven with his wing-mates following suit soon after.

"Form up on me and be ready to scramble." Scion said over the secure com-link.

"Roger." Axle seemed more secure now, though Scion worried that it wouldn't last him.

"Understood sir. Forming up." Violet, as always, sounded calm beyond her experience.

Scion had only know his squad for one day, at least in the respect of them being a squad. He had known them before hand in training and knew both of them, Axle more then Violet, pretty well. He knew they were good fighters, maybe not the best but they would do.

The three mobile armors circled the carrier as to make sure their radar missed nothing. The other squad worked with him to make sure they wouldn't miss anything coming from any direction. It wasn't long before explosion could be seen in the distance and reports of losses came flooding in.

Scion gripped the controls of his machine and repeated his mission to himself over and over to keep himself from flying off and going after those ZAFT mobile suits. His thoughts were soon interrupted by an incoming transmission.

"Kazuma! Enemy mobile suits spotted! Ready your squad." It was the voice of one of the staff from the bridge of the ship.

"Understood! Moving to intercept! Axle, Violet! Alpha formation."

They responded by obeying the command, Alpha formation being a triangular formation for quick scrambles or to give concentrated fire power, and going to the new coordinates. They soon saw the shape of three enemy mobile suits, three GINN mobile suits.

"Okay, I everyone scatter and see how they react. We'll engage depending on their movements."

Scion found it strange how they did this so quietly. Scion could feel his hands starting to sweat and he hadn't even fired a shot yet. He assumed it was from worrying about Axle and Violet. They didn't have top scores like him and he worried about their ability.

As the three mobile armors scattered the three mobile suits scattered in a different fashion. Two of the GINN's came after Scion and his Moebius and the other went after Axle and Violet.

_Damn. They must have found out I'm the leader by our formation. _

Scion immediately began evasive maneuvers, at least Axle and Violet outnumbered the other GINN two-to-one. Though that put him in a predicament with him being outnumbered. About the same time as this went on came reports that the other squad had also engaged the enemy and that Roosevelt was firing it's guns in support.

The GINN's began firing bursts from their MMI-M8A3 76mm Heavy Assault Machine guns. Those were guns meant for ground conflicts though or to punch wholes in a warship, either way it was lucky that he ended up with them using those.

Scion pulled down the targeting system, for the rear mounted missiles, over his eyes as they began to gain on him and get dangerously close with their fire.

_Come on…come on….shit!_

He had to abandon the target to escape heavy fire. He did a three-sixty degree circle and decided to hell with targeting and fired one of his two missiles loads blindly at the enemy. The rear mounted missiles blasted off into the open space. The GINN's easily avoided the blind firing but one of the pilots let his guard down.

It was all Scion needed. He had brought his machine around and readied his linear gun on the one suspecting GINN and fired. The heavy gun punctured the machines weapon bearing arm causing it to explode, along with it's weapon. The machine drifted to the right, the pilot being thrown into shock, and Scion decided not to give it the chance to come back before putting another hole in it's lower torso. After a second of strange silence it dissapeared behind the explosion that comsumed it.

_I got one…I got one…I got one...I got on--  
_

Scion's celebrating was cut short by the return of the second GINN, the pilot had been thrown off by the explosion of his ally and couldn't react to save his friends life or take Scion's.

"Damn it!" He shouted to himself as he began rolling to the left his machine while also veering to the left to avoid direct fire from the enemy gun.

"Get off my tail you Coordinator freak!"

He pulled back on the control stick of his machine and began to try and loop behind his opponent. When he was successfully above his opponent he heard the blipping from his radar.

"Oh, great what now?

From the direction of the ship came his two wing mates, who had just taken care of the other GINN with some difficulty. They opened fire with their linear guns on the last remaining GINN mobile suit. It dodged the shots with barely room to spare, he hadn't been expecting the reinforcements to come from the enemy side.

"I got you know, Coordinator!" Scion hollered as he descended on his target letting his linear gun unload on the GINN. It took two hits before exploding. Afterwards Scion regrouped his squad and began to return to the Roosevelt.

"Lieutenant Kazuma." Came the voice of the ships commander from the Roosevelt.

"Yes sir? What is it?"

"We are at our destination. You've done enough. Return to HQ."

"Destination? We are to protect your ship commander. I don't understand."

"….We need good pilots like you. I can't let you be killed, I've sent Alpha to finish our job."

"Killed by what? We just took three GINN mobile suits."

"Nuclear attack."

"What! What do you mean!" Scion was growing more and more alarmed at the news. He noticed that Axle and Violet didn't know of the attack nor did it seem that they could hear this conversation over the com, it must have been blocked.

"This ship is carrying nuclear missiles. They've been loaded unto your machines as well."

"The EA can't do that! There are innocent people on that colony!"

"It will be either said to be a mistake or that the colony self-destructed. No more talking though. You are to withdraw this instant…or I will have you punished."

"Commander! Why wasn't I told of this in the mission brief!"

"...The higher ups must have thought you wouldn't have gone through with it. Not everyone hates Coordinators you know."

Scion stared forward at the colony in front of him.

_"Not everyone hates Coordinators"_

_But I do...I do hate them...they took everything. My moms praise, my teachers praise, my school goals, my pride...my pride.._

"No! This is wrong Commander! Despite if we hate them or not we just can't do this! We can't!"

"And what will you do Kazuma? Will you revolt? Will you protest? I'd adivse you against it...a Natural defending Coordinators will draw the attention of other darker organazations."

"It--"

"I wil hear no more. You have been given your orders. Follow them."

"I can't! I won'---"

The sound was deafening. All at once one could see the violent explosion as it consumed the colony. Such bright colors could be seen from the nukes detonation point. The shock wave came with massive force and blew the three ship squad into the black of space.

"Holy shiiiit!" Axle yelled before the shock slammed into his ship.

"..Oh my god!" Was Violet's response.

"NO!" Scion couldn't say much more.

The three mobile armors were thrown away from the colony as it detonated. None of the three could see anything as their machines rolled and sped off further from the colony, from ZAFT, and from any EA forces.

Soon the explosion died and the pilots were able to regain control of their machines. In silence they sat in their cockpits staring at the horror before them. The colony was no more, at least in the sense of it being in one piece. It was no more then large chunks of steel and metal, of brick and gravel, and of death and destruction.

They all sat in awe and fear of what was before them. It was horrific and it was something they had allowed.

All the while Scion wondered...did he hate them that much? Did he hate them so much that he would take the life of a innocent Coordinator? Did he really hate them that much?

Then another question came to mind, did he hate them so much that he would allow himself to be blinded into helping the extermination of the colony? Did Coordinators even deserve such hate?

All these questions and more pounding inside Scion Kazuma's mind as he made for safety...

Though at the time Scion didn't know if safety was with the EA...

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_So with this chapter we come full circle. You will know see what Scion does afterwards and where his choices take him, this is still roughly eleven months before Kira enters the Strike Gundam and begans his part in the war. 

Other then that I think this chapter came out pretty well. Though I found it a challenge to write about the Moebius fight scene since it was a figher plane and couldn't get into close combat and it couldn't turn on a dime. Other then that I think the chapter came out fairly well.


	4. The Dismantling

**Chapter 2: The Dismantling and Reconstruction**

**Part A: The Dismantling**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**Author's Notes: From here on I'm going to using a more exact timetable. I'll be adding the dates and then the times as well. It wasn't so important in the first chapter but it is, at least in a few places, important here.**_

**February 15, C.E 70**

**Ptolemaeus Lunar Base, 7:59 A.M.**

"Leaving? Why is that Scion!" Axle said after spitting out pieces of his muffin that he was chewing on.

"..Because, I don't think I can stay with the EA after what they've done…"

"You heard what it was. The Colony self-destructed."

Axle and Violet along with all the other surviving pilots had no idea what had occurred. Any that did were the ones delivering the nuclear missiles and were killed instantly. Except for Scion who had to hear from his commander, he never even got his name and regretted not learning it but since he was only to know him for that mission he didn't think it important.

_Axle…if only that were true…if only I could believe that too._

"Yeah…either way…I just can't be involved in a war where nuclear weapons are being used. I can't…I won't."

Axle grunted and threw his remaining muffin into a crash bin before kicking thin air.

"So that's it! You just up and leave after our FIRST mission."

"….I'm sorry Axle…I--"

"You're sorry! Don't give me that bull shit Scion! I've known you since you were a kid! I've never known you to back down from something. You said you were going to become a better pilot then any Coordinator remember! You hated them remember? So what's the real reason for you leaving, huh! You getting cold feat because of the war!"

…_I don't hate them…I didn't hate them…I was envious of them, jealous of them, don't you see Axle I'm not some holy warrior fighting against heretics or something. I'm just a sad man with a hurt pride…I hated them because I was scared of them…because they 'are' better then me…_

"Damn it Scion! Say something!" Axle cried out after Scion wouldn't respond.

"I just can't Axle! I just can't fight for the EA anymore!"

"Yeah I see…after everything we've done together…you are just going to leave me. You know what? Fine! I'll fight the Coordinators without you! I hate them to you know!" Axle yelled before storming off in some unknown direction.

Scion sighed as he walked along the hallway to the EA recruitment center to confirm his leaving of the army. It wasn't a far walk in any measure but to Scion it seemed that it took the length of his lifetime.

**Ptolemaeus Lunar Base, Recruitment Center, 9:00 A.M.**

"So…you want to withdraw from the Earth Forces do you Mr. Kazuma?" The recruiter spoke in a closed room to Scion.

"Yes, sir. I feel that I can no longer fight for the EA."

"Is it because of Junius Seven colony self-destructing?"

"…..I don't believe it did that sir. "

"So you believe the rumors about the EA blowing it up as well? Even if we did what would it matter? This is war Kazuma. Are you saying you would rather side with the Coordinators?"

"At least they didn't use nuclear weapons to resolve their issues."

The officer walked around the small table at which Scion sat. He seemed to be in thought about something, what that something was, at the moment, was unknown to Scion. He looked at a peice of paper and then sighed in resignation.

"You've got to be the luckiest bastard I've ever met." The officer laughed out loud after speaking.

"Excuse me sir?"

"To get me as your recruiter. It's your lucky break."

"I don't understand sir."

"Have you ever heard of someone leaving the army?"

"…No sir, I haven't."

"Do you know why that is?"

"I assumed they all want to continue fighting. Is there another reason?"

"Yes. Blue Cosmos."

"The anti-Coordinator group? Why are they involved?"

"Because…they are in the army."

Scion stood up quickly as everything began playing out in his head. No one ever left the army because anyone that tried too was killed. Blue Cosmos must have thought that anyone wanting to stop fighting Coordinators wanted to help them and thus killed them.

"So…am I to die now?"

The officer laughed again before going over to his seat and signing a few papers and sliding them over Scion. It seemed to be some forms of leave along with some other documents.

"What are these other forms. Do I sign them?"

"No. They are simply stating that you died as of today…."

"What?"

"Anyone that tries to leave is to be killed, orders from up top but I just can't shoot someone your age. It wouldn't be fitting. When you leave this place out the back door you, Scion Kazuma will no longer exist. You will be legally dead."

Scion fell back into his seat. So he would leave technically but in all other aspects be dead. Where would he go? Who would take him in with no papers of identification.

"There is a man in Orb, the neutral country. I hear some top secret project with the EA. Him and some women work on creating machines to destroy the ZAFT mobile suits. He will take you in, probably as a test pilot for his machines. It may sound like a bad bit of business since it violates the treaty but the man is under the radar since his idea's were to…hollow in some respects."

"What is he making?"

"Hell if I know. I'm just saying, it will give you something to do. Now get to it. You should have enough money on you to get a shuttle."

"….I'll be going then."

"God speed and good luck."

Scion didn't respond as he signed his release papers and left the place using the back entrance. He was a free man now, more free then anyone. He was a dead man….his past with the EA, his jealous of Coordinators and his attack on Junius marked that life but he was given a new chance now. To start over as a new Scion Kazuma. After a bit of thinking…he decided not to change his name. His mother gave him that name.

**Shuttle to Earth, 12:26 P.M.**

Scion sat comfortably in his seat of the space shuttle as it started it's descent to earth. No one asked him to identify himself. Scion had that upstanding, hardworking, and honest citizen look. No one bothered him in the least.

He downed a bit of grape juice instead of the wine offered to the first class, he did have a bit of money from the Junius attack since his squad took three GINN's down and protected the Roosevelt until the colony 'self destructed'. He was given a hefty bonus since it was a morale booster for one squad of three machines to take down three Mobile suits since reports says it would take five Moebius to take down one GINN.

"Would you like anything else sir?" A waitress said as he passed him, thus bringing him from his thoughts.

"Oh, no thank you. I'm fine."

The waitress politely nodded as she was paid to and went on her way. Scion returned to his thoughts, thinking about his life and how foolish he was. In his youth he liked coordinators only to grow jealous of them. Yes, Scion thought about his life and decided it was time to make up for what he had done. To make a stand and redeem himself for all the innocent Coordinators that died on Junius Seven. Maybe a life in Orb would be just what he needed.

**February 16, C.E. 70**

**Onogoro, 11:45 A.M**

Scion threw his book bag unto the floor of his new apartment, he only brought money with him and one change of clothes since he decided to completely start over, though he hadn't found a way to make up for what he had helped make happened.

He stuffed his hand into his pocket and pulled out an ID card and an appointment time to speak to a man that worked in Morgenroete. He wasn't the chief researcher and wasn't directly involved in what the EA and Orb were working on. Scion would find out soon enough though.

It was an interesting prospect.

**Orb Researching center, 1:50 P.M.**

Scion sat in a chair waiting for his 2:00 P.M appointment. The desk clerk seemed a bit jumpy and when Scion asked why it was because the man he was seeing was known to have…some backfires that resulted in random explosions.

"Scion Kazuma is it?" A man of middle age said as he came from the only other door in the room.

"Uh, yes it is." Scion stood and bowed his head only to get a shaking head as a response.

"I'm researcher, Takashi is what I go by. You can just call me Doc."

"Doc?….Uh okay."

"Well come this way."

The man waved his hand and had Scion follow. They went through a number of labs with people working, though the place seemed to be understaffed. Then they went to a room over looking a field of some kind.

"I work in mobile suit development but….Well not all my idea are…safe. And others aren't useable to the average pilot."

"Meaning?"

"Watch."

Scion looked over the field in front of him as a mobile suit began to rise from an underground hanger. It had a Azure Core with white on the legs and arms along with the head, though the eyes were yellow.. It carried a beam rifle with a large shield with some sort of bulge in the center with three cylinder like objects that might be beam sabers. Anything else that it had Scion couldn't make it out. Scion then noticed as the machine turned it's back to him that it had six small fin like things on it's back. Two large ones were on the center of the back side by side while four smaller ones were located at four different places, one behind each leg and the other two on the shoulders.

Scion had never seen anything like it.

"What are those?"

"Fin Funnels and Boosters."

Scion turned back to the field as multiple came up. The machine stepped forward and nearly tripped in the process, it brought up the beam rifle and fired at the target and missed by a marginal distance.

"Machines like these are so difficult for Naturals to pilot that they are almost unusable even by an experienced pilot."

"Yeah, but what is so difficult about your machine?"

"The very thing that makes it special. Watch."

Scion turned again to the machine as it boosted to another test area and to Scion surprise ejected the Fin Funnels but they didn't fall to the ground like he thought they would, he know saw that Funnel wasn't a fancy word for Booster. Instead they began hovering low to the ground around the machine and soon enough they began firing at the targets and missed badly. And soon after that the funnels began firing at random places for no apparent reason.

"End the testing. It's a failure again."

"What happened?"

"To use the funnels you have to have a certain kind of awareness. We couldn't find anyone with that kind of awareness so we made a system call the psyco-frame. It enhances a person spatial awareness to a level where one can use the funnels but then we discovered that using the funnels still required one that could handle the increase which means we need someone with the awareness along with great mental strength and stability. You've been sent here to try your hand…I heard you were a hot shot pilot with unusual ability.

"Yeah but…"

"Suit up, Scion Kazuma. You want to make good on what you've done. Then help me create something that will protect Orb so they can keep their neutrality."

What could Scion say? He had nowhere else to go anyway. He would pilot this nameless machine.

**Hanger Bay, 3:00 P.M**

"Here you are. Some specs for the mobile suit." One of the mechanics said as he handed him a sheet with useful information.

"Thanks."

-------Mobile Suit Specs-------------

**Model number: ZZZ-000**

**Code name: None**

**Unit type: Prototype Multi-Purpose Mobile suit, **

**Color: White and Azure, a light blue color.**

**Manufacturer: Morgenroete**

**Operator: Test pilots**

**First deployment: None**

**Accommodation: Pilot Only**

**Dimensions:19.02 meters**

**Weight:71.8 tons**

**Power plant: Prototype Engine**

**Thrusters: 95,780 kg **

**Generator: 3500 kW **

**Equipment and design features:**

-------Gundanium Alloy

------- Psyco-Frame

**Sensor radius: 25,600 meters **

**Fixed armaments: **

-------75mm High Energy Beam Rifle with a bayonet attachment

-------Anti-Beam Shield with detonation charges inside

-------Fin Funnels/Fin Boosters (6x)

-------75mm automatic multi-barrel CIWS "Igelstellung" x 2

-------Two beam sabers placed behind the shoulders.

**Optional Upgrades: Still in development.**

------End of Specs------

"I see, thanks." Scion handed back the sheet to the mechanic.

"No problem. We're still developing other systems for it so don't think that's all it has. It's just it's current system.

"Right…"

"Oh yeah. What is this alloy on this thing?"

"Hmm? Oh that. It's a new kind of alloy that so strong that it would take a GINN a whole load on it's heavy machine gun to do any significant damage. It takes no extra energy but it's so expensive that it almost made the Doc bankrupt and it's the reason his suit was not accpeted because it did cost so much, along with the Frame being hard to use. It's useful though."

"I see...thanks."

"Again, no problem."

Scion closed the hatch and was told that he would be given an hour to get used to the controls. He gave the okay and then waited as the machine with no name was lifted up to the test field.

"Can you hear me Scion?" It was Doc.

"Yes."

"Commence with your own testing."

"Right."

Scion gripped the two sliding controls and pressed them forward and was taken aback as it stumbled forward and fell to the ground.

"Shit."

Scion pulled back on the controls along with the foot pedals to regain his standing posture.

"Eh, it's to unstable and is to sensitive."

Scion pulled down the keyboard to access the OS (operating System) and began typing at an more then average rate configuring the sensitivity controls and the stability ratio's for when the mobile came in contact with the ground, he also at this time moved the arms and head to adjust those as well.. After roughly three minutes he pushed the keyboard away and tried to talk again with amazing success. He was able to get around the whole field without falling, though he would have to spend a few days getting it to work smoothly.

Inside a protected room Doctor Takashi sat in a chair while the researchers went buzzing around recording the amazing feat. No one had been able to walk around like that without falling. Most of the pilots just got into place and stood their not moving because they couldn't get help.

"Amazing. Yumi I want you to get any and all background information on that man."

"Yes sir. I'll get on it right away."

"Doc, give me some targets." Scion said over the com, having finished his movement controls and such.

"Understood. Give him the targets." Doc said to yet another worker.

"Yes sir"

Multiple targets as before rose up and showed themselves to Scion. He aimed the gun with ease, thanks to his adjustments with the basic movement of the machine. He aimed and fired to find that either the calibration was off or it was this gun. So again the keyboard came down and he began adjusting the calibration, he tested the projection of the rifle by firing with each new setting until he hit his targets. This took roughly five minutes to do since it was a frustrating process that required the changing of longitude and latitude, along with some other minor modifications. Again, the coding was not perfect.

Everyone in the control gasped as he was able what couldn't and hadn't been done by any pilot.

"Yumi...are you sure he's a Natural?" Doc said to the same young lady from before. He had never seen a Natural with that kind of ability.

"Yes sir..his mother is a Natural though the father was a sperm donor. I'm looking up his information now."

"Very well...give him new targets."

"Yes sir."

Outside Scion messed around the detonation devices in the shield. They shot forward like small rockets and exploded. The explosions were weak by themselves to Scion went into the OS and configured everything to fire at once, which was a load of three small rockets meant for buildings or for disabling an enemy machine.

"Okay. Firing seems to be okay. What's next"

"……." The Doc listened to Yumi as she whispered in his ear about some information on Scion's past.

"Uh…Doc?"

"Oh! Yes, the funnel testing now. Just activate the psyco-frame and then well…there is no OS for the funnels so you'll have to…well you'll see."

"Roger.." Scion didn't like the way that the Doctor spoke about the psyco-frame. It just sounded strange. Scion clicked a few buttons and then threw a switch until the computer confirmed the activation of the Frame.

At first everything got very hazy before Scion adjusted to it and then realized that he was a lot more aware of things. It was a strange awareness though like he could tell what everything around him was doing. Though he didn't know what those things were without turning to look at what he was feeling.

"Okay. Just try giving commands to the funnels. After a while instinct should take over." It was the Doc of course. One of the techincal staff told him of the activation of the pysco-frame.

"Right.."

Scion breathed and spoke with his mind and sure enough the detachment of the funnels was notified by the mobile suits computer system. He could feel them floating around and when he concentrated on one funnel the others would flock to that spot, going to where his point of concentration was.

All in all it took twenty minutes for the funnels to feel natural. After that the targets were quickly destroyed.

"Holy shit did you see that?"

"No one has ever been able to use the funnels like that and this is his first time!"

More chatter went on before Doc quieted the group down and told them to call Scion back in.

"Testing is over Scion. Bring the mobile suit in."

"Understood."

The mobile suit was brought in and Scion sent home after being told to return tomorrow at the same time. When Scion did get home he thought a lot about what he did that day and the thing that stuck with him the most was his adaptability to the mobile suit. It's OS and Funnels all seemed to easy to get used too. Why couldn't other Naturals do what he did? He would have to ask the professor tomorrow about him perhaps knowing something.

**February 17, C.E. 70**

**Orb Researching center, 2:00 P.M.**

"Hello Doc. You wanted to see me?" Scion said as he walked into the Doc's private room.

"Yes, I wanted to talk to you about your performance."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Sit down please."

"I've done some looking into on your person. Most of the information is clear except for you timely death which I assume was due to Blue Cosmos. You're lucky I found out about it and told that recruiter that I would accept people like you."

"…Thank you sir."

"You pilot my machine. No need to be thankful. Now, your mother is a natural who asked for a donor to have you correct?"

"Yes. My mother wanted a child of her own."

"Do you know who the father is?"

"No. I never thought it important."

"Hmm. Smarter then your friends weren't you? Other then the Coordinators, right?"

"Well yeah, but what does that have to do with any of this?"

"The donor…was a Coordinator."

"Wh-what? A coordinator?"

"Yes. You seem to be the first cross breed between the Naturals and Coordinators. Or as I would call you a 'Natural Coordinator'. "

"That…can't be…"

"I've looked at your school grades. Better then everyone but the Naturals. Didn't it seem strange to you? You didn't just beat them at one thing but you beat the Naturals at everything, just as a Coordinator would beat a Natural at just about everything."

Scion slumped back in his seat as everything that Takashi said slowly soaked into Scion's mind and it also fit in so well….it made sense too. His quick learning of the Moebius and his understanding of the new mobile suit. It all made so much sense then.

"So…that's why I could use the suit when the others couldn't?"

"Yes. You did in roughly forty minutes what I haven't been able to do in a year. Amazing even if the dominate genes of the Coordinators have been dulled by the recessive genes of the Naturals. Not only that but you could very well be the bridge we need to get over the Anti-Coordinator issue. "

"…So what does this mean for me?"

Takashi stood up and brought over a sheet with his battle performance.

"You are different from Coordinators in the fact that you have to work hard to gain something unlike Coordinators who are excellent in everything despite their knowledge. You on the other hand can in my opinion become greater then a Coordinator because you can increase your abilities through hard work. Though, I'm no doctor so I can't say for sure."

Scion looked at the sheet to see that his abilities with the suit were twice times as effective as the other pilots.

"But you will see…that you will get much better at using this machine. You will see very soon what I think you can become."

And so Scion stayed there piloting the mobile suit with no name designation. The machine that drew on his strange and warped abilities that came from two different worlds.

And is Scion's mind this was just what he needed. His false death and leaving the EA to start new. This was just what he needed to tear himself down and rebuild himself greater then before, greater then his jealousy and his fear of them. He could build himself in a way that he could be proud of himself and not worry about if he wasn't the best...yes...that was his new goal.

To be Scion Kazuma.

So he piloted the machine and waited to see where his life would take him next.

* * *

_**Authors Notes: **_So now things are moving along in earnest. You have learned of his childhood and how he started to hate Coordinators. You have seen him take part in the attack on Junius Seven and now he has taken command of a Gundam. Note that the Strike and Blitz and so on are just starting their contruction so at this point this nameless Gundam is the strongest one around. 

I hope you all stay to see what Scion will do with this machine and what he will be forced to do because of that power. Also, depending on my reviews, which at this point I have none, I might consider going into anime story line and have Scion effect the outcome of the war that Kira was forced into.

I hope you call enjoy my writing.


	5. The Reconstruction

**Chapter 2: The Dismantling and Reconstruction**

**Part B: The Reconstruction**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

**May, 2, C.E. 70**

**Scion's apartment, 6:05 A.M**

He had been here for three months, give or take a week or two, operating this machine that still had no name. He spent his days testing new weapons and harder more elaborate training fields and courses. Scion found that like his Moebius training he was adept at the art of war and his handling of this G-weapon as it was called for lack of a better word, Scion had thought of a new word, but didn't think it mattered what the damn thing was called.

Scion sat in a lounge chair, his alarm woke him at 6:00 A.M and he was fighting off sleep. He had some special day ahead of him. A new training field of some kind and then a special meeting with Doc about god knows what.

He stood up and walked over to the window and stared down at the suburbs that he lived in. Everyone was still sleeping except for the Orb personal that worked night shift and the few late night people that roamed the town in search of a party or a place to crash.

"Three months…." Scion said to himself. In that time everything Doc has said had come true. His compatibility with the Psycho-Frame had gone up by fifty-percent since the first time he had stepping into the G-weapon and he was able to coordinate them into formations and for the most part he didn't even have to think about them. During that time he had learned to handle the funnels while using them as the add-on boosters. They also got the bayonet attachment on the rifle to work without damaging the rifle.

Perhaps the most astounding advancement with the Funnels was their new ability to create a shield that can protect the G-weapon, when all six funnels are active. With each funnel that Scion lost the shield would lose shielding coverage. It was also stressful on the pilot to keep them all information and still while the mobile moved about.

Scion looked at his watch and decided he might as well get some breakfast since he had an early appointment today.

**Doc's Research Lab, 9:00 A.M.**

Scion entered the labs main door while stuffing a doughnut into his mouth. He waved to the clerk, who's name he always forgot to ask. She gave him a strange look, probably for the doughnut stuffing, and let him enter. As he did so he brushed off the crumbs from his mouth with his hand.

He'd apologize later for the lack of manners.

Scion was greeted by all the technical staff as he came in. They would tell him something about his last run, a glitch of something to look out for in the future. He took note of most of them, the rest he tuned out since they mostly came with the same bit of information everyday.

After listening to everyone Scion made his way to the hanger and to his mobile suit. None of the mechanics bothered him, at least they seemed to have some confidence in Scion's own abilities. Doc decided to keep Scion's heritage a secret from the others. Half Coordinator was still have of something they didn't understand, but half of something was something he supposed.

"Scion."

"Huh? Oh it's you Doc. What's up?" Scion was a little thrown off by the Doc's sudden appearance to his cock pit. A first for the man.

"I'm going to tell you about your next training exercise."

"Why here?"

"Because it won't take place here and no one else but the Mechanics and a few of tech that I choose will know. It's a real live mission."

"But, I thought your machines weren't being used."

"Not officially they aren't but I have a powerful friend that knows what I have. He wants me to do him a favor with this G-weapon, which by the way I hate that name since this is not one of the EA's prototype machines. Get a better name."

"Right. Go on."

"ZAFT has been moving their forces closer to Orb to keep an eye on them. They have a small communications base and a small supply base which are waiting for the order to create a larger base of operations. You are to take out the communications then the supply base. Shouldn't be any more then four or five GINN's but with this mobile suit it shouldn't be a problem."

_..So I have to kill more Coordinators. Haven't I done enough to them? No…can't start thinking like that. This is war and I owe Takashi for giving me a purpose, even if it is using this machine. If to war with ZAFT he wants me to go then to war with ZAFT I 'will' go. I can't start getting all pouty' over what happened…it was the EA's fault….no…Blue Cosmos fault and NOT mine, so stop being a sap._

"…..Understood."

"Good. The coordinates are all in place and you will go out through the outer exit for supply transport so no one will see you. Oh and Scion."

"Yeah?"

"Good luck." For the first time Doc seemed to be nervous about something which in turn made Scion nervous.

"Thanks, I'll be fine. I have your machine right?"

The Doc laughed as he patted Scion on the back.

"Yes, yes you do."

**ZAFT Communications Base, 10:00 P.M.**

Scion's Gundam, a name he got from one of the techs when he asked for a name, it was called as such for the words on the Gundam's start up screen 'General Unilateral Neuro-link Dispersive Autonomic Maneuver '. So this 'Gundam' walked through the forest, or stomped through to be more exact. It was night and the communications was only communication. The radar of the base was very limited without better equipment and Scion would be completely free to unleash his Gundam's power once the tower was gone.

The tower soon came into view and Scion immediately began aiming for it before someone spotted him on radar or with the naked eye.

"I got you."

The mobile suit raised it's arm, bearing the rockets for just this kind of occasion, and launched off one round then two for good measure. The first impact hit the tower causing it to fall, the second wave of missiles flew over and hit a building behind it.

Lucky for Scion though the tower was down and no one would be calling for help nor would they be reporting the attack of a new war machine.

"Okay…now I destroy everything." Scion said to himself as he unleashed more of the mini rockets on the varies buildings in the area.

"Pilot of the that mobile suit. This is the ZAFT commander of this base. You are to retreat now or be destroyed." A voice said over the com-link, he was obviously shook up.

_Heh, you know you're isolated so you're trying to put on a strong front to get me to retreat? You've got to be kidding me._

"Sorry, but your base looks mighty defenseless and I don't see any reason to abandon this mission. I'm sorry that you have to die but orders are orders" Scion responded, though he felt a large guilt well up inside him at the cold hearted response he gave.

Scion blocked that frequency and turned his attention to the hangers and was about to fire on it to stop any enemy reinforcements from coming but he was to late. Two GINN's came out of a hole they blew in the entrance of the hangar while to Scion's surprise two DINN's came from an a hole in the top of the hanger.

_Must be scared if they are blowing holes in their own hanger bay. _

Scion took a deep breath before pressing the pedals at his feet and launching his machine into the air. He aimed his beam rifle at one of the enemy GINN's, while dodging enemy fire from them, and fired off a round. The shot missed but Scion was to busy retreating from the DINN's aerial attack to notice.

"Damn it!" Scion hollered as he shot off his last round of rockets into the air. His mobile suit came back to the ground with a thud and he boosted away again to avoid fire. The DINN's had more manueverablility in the air then Scion did.

"I got you now natural!" A com had been open obviously between Scion and his enemy, who were now more confident in their abilities to counter Scion's attack. The pilot came in his DINN at top speed intent on slamming into Scion.

"No you don't!" Scion screamed as he dodged the attack. Then Scion got a feeling of euphoria and his instincts took control of the funnels, which were attached as boosters, and activated sending Scion straight up allowing him to dodge a shot from the other DINN.

_Whoa, how the hell did I know that was coming? Huh--_

Again, Scion instincts came into action as the GINN's on the ground aimed at the descending Gundam, the shoulder and leg funnels rotated according to Scion's increased awareness, through the Psycho-Frame, and again saved him from danger and launched him over to the right. The Gundam landed with the other GINN coming at him with his MA-M3 heavy blade.

"I got you now!" The pilot knew that with the Gundam holding the rifle he could never stop his attack. (Remember that this Gundam doesn't have PS armor so even though he has the Gundanium alloy he will take some damage.)

In a flash of purple light and the sound of melting metal the GINN's arm came completely off. The pilot stood in confusion I fear that became more fear then anything as the rifle was in his face with the bayonet attachment active.

"Rule one; Never underestimate your opponent! Ever!" Scion screamed as he slammed the bayonet into the cock-pit of the mobile suit. The blade barely made it through the suit since it was only half the length of a beam saber. Scion retreated before the mobile suit fell without an explosion.

"You bastard! I'll kill you!" The three pilots said together which at another time and place would have been funny but not in this instance. Scion jumped backwards with his boosters into the woods.

"You won't escape us! I'l---" the GINN pilot words were cut off by six beam shots came from the forest at once. He watched in horror as his two ally DINN pilots were killed, three shots to each DINN. He looked forward as the Gundam once again rose from woods with six azure colored objects floated around it.

"Ahhh!" He fired off his heavy machine gun which to his already extreme horror were blocked by a purple color shield. The six funnels made a hexagon in front of Scion making a simple shield, he needed to defend from once direction so he didn't need to cover himself like he could have.

The funnels dropped the shield and pointed at the one GINN. The enemy machine with yellow eyes that seemed from hell raised it's own rifle. The pilot was now staring down the barrel of seven beam rifle all trained on him.

"No! no!" He never got to beg for his life as the hiss of beam weapons firing could be heard and the explosion of one lone mobile suit.

Everything around Scion got strangely quiet. He guessed that a few remaining soldiers got away though he doubted anyone would believe them about a new war machine. He was about to turn back and head to base when he picked up a number of blips on his radar.

"What the? It must be the convoy with equipment for the base…they'll have a escort but I have to take them out. Can't let them make a report."

Scion called back the Funnels into their places and boosted away from the area. They were most likely blind with no communication so no one would be telling them of the bases destruction, though they would notice that something was wrong when they got not communication from the base.

The convoy consisted of a transport ship with three DINN's escorting it. They flew ahead to scout out and stopped when the base came into view. They seemed to be getting orders on what to do.

Scion didn't miss this chance, his beam rifle was trained on the center DINN hoping to get splash damage from this one blowing up. His trigger finger flexed which was followed by a hiss. The beam streamed across the ground as it flew higher and higher until it pierced the targets torso. The fizz of shot circuits then the resounding of the explosion. The other two merely staggered away.

"What the?" The pilot to the left said.

"It must be an enemy in the forest hiding!" The other said as he began surveying the area.

_The only down fall of Coordinators…you just assume you are better then your opponent. You don't know where I am or how many we are and yet you insist on fighting. Heh, listen to me sound all guru like. Don't get cocky, Scion._

Scion gritted his teeth as he aimed at the loud mouth one to the right. The lock on was confirmed and the trigger was pulled, though this time the shot was dodged. He had obviously been looking in the direction of the first shot.

The two DINN turned to face the new enemy and began fired a barrage with their MMI-M7S 76mm heavy assault machine gun into the forest around where the shot came. A flash of color from a booster activating then a white and blue blur was flung into the air. The Mass traveled high above the DINN's.

"What is that!"

"A new war machine! Tell the transport to get out of here!"

The two pilots tried to tell the transport to leave with this information but it never got the chance as the new enemy machine came down upon in finally dropping it's beam rifle to wield one of the beam sabers. It swung downward at the carrier cutting it in half. The ZAFT transport exploded leaving the two DINN's with only the goal to survive left.

"Bad luck for you. If you had come just a little later." Scion said over a open com frequency. The mobile suit fell to the ground and waited for them to make their move.

The two pilots stared at the new machine in awe of it. It's glowing yellow eyes set on them. They were sure it was the end for them but they wouldn't go without a fight.

"You're not match for us Natural!" The braver of the two pilots said as he charged while firing his multipurpose missiles at Scion. Scion's Gundam's "**Igelstellung"** made short work of those missiles as they were made to shoot down missiles and small aircraft. The DINN still kept coming firing more missiles that only got destroyed as they came to Scion.

"What is he doing? Just firing like that. Wait."

Scion turned his machine instantly to face the other DINN that has circled around him. Scion was getting a bit freaked by his ability to guess where his enemy was and when they were attacking. Scion shot his Gundam forward, dodging the remaining missiles, at the now close DINN. Before the DINN could pull back and get away Scion was on him with his beam saber, slashing upwards thereby destroying the things left wing.

"Loser!" Scion cried as he lifted his machine into the air and watched as the missiles that had been coming after him piled into the DINN. It was a simple matter then to unleash the funnels and dispatch with the other enemy DINN.

It was quiet now. No enemy around and Scion found himself gripping his controls so tightly that if he had his beam rifle he would have shot something. He slowly released the controls and slumped back in his seat.

_I beat seven! Seven coordinators! Doc was right… I can do anything as good as they can if I try hard enough. Just takes hard work…I can do this. I can make a diffedrence/_

Strangely enough Scion began laughing, a feeling of relief having come over him. He no longer felt like this inferior being that had to run and hide in a hole to escape the better race. He could hold his head high and know that he was just as good as them….and he could become better.

After Scion regained himself he laid the base and the surrounding area to waste…

**March, 3, 2:00 A.M.**

**Doc's Research Base**

"Doc. We have Scion and the Gundam in our radar range." A tech said to Takashi as he smoked a pipe, a new habit.

"I see. Open communications right away."

"Yes, sir."

Scion's Gundam walked along the secret road to base. His machine took no damage what so ever. More then that Scion had defeated two enemy GINN's and five enemy DINN's. Even with his machine it had been difficult, and even though he had taken no damage it was not an easy victory for Scion. He had to face more then just the machines he had to face the Coordinators inside, the very beings that for so much of his life he had hated and envied because of their abilities.

But he won didn't he?

"Scion can you hear me? It's Yumi." Yumi, the assistant to Takashi and the women that had found out about Scion's sperm donning father.

"Yes, I can hear you Yumi. Mission complete."

"I see. Good job then. Doctor Takashi would like to see you when you are free."

"Understood."

Scion clicked off the com-link and piloted the Gundam into the hangar where the mechanics flew unto it like flies to a pile of dung. They began checking for any damage to fix. Besides refueling they wouldn't find much to do.

**Doc's Private Quarters, 2: 15 A.M.**

Scion waited for the door to open, which it did almost as soon as he got in front of it. He wasn't sure what the Doc wanted exactly but so far the man hadn't wasted his time.

"You wanted to see me Doc?"

"Oh yes yes, come in."

Scion nodded and took a nearby seat. He wondered how a scientist that was nearly out of the game could afford something like this. He never bothered to ask though.

"What did you want to see me about."

"Just to talk a bit about current news and about your mission."

"I see. Current news first then." Scion despite his stunning success still had a bad feeling in his gut about killing Coordinators again though that feeling was small in comparison to the other one he felt…Confidence.

"Well the GAT-X series are under construction in one of Orb's Neutral colonies. Orb is also building a new machine called the Astrays. Though the details are a bit fuzzy to me."

"How did you find this out? Orb helping the EA would be a very big secret, you must have friends in high places."

Takashi laughed for a while before responding. He thought Scion would have noticed that even though he was not the most respected researcher he was definitely in the circle of power.

"I have that machine don't I? I have funding for it don't I? I had you brought here didn't I? I'm very well situated in the intelligence department. It's the political part that I don't like."

"I see…do you have any information on these machines?"

"Not yet. I just know that the EA has some revolutionary kind of armor system that some say rival the alloy that I bought for your Gundam."

_Mine? Interesting choice of words Doc. Why not your Gundam?_

"I see. That's very interesting. I knew it was futile for Orb to stay out of the war. To be neutral is to die by the one that wins."

"True. Which is why we have entered the race."

Scion nodded. It was true, Orb needed to be ready for anything. Needed to be ready to fight for their independence. He had lived here for only three months but found that it was a better place then most to live.

"The mission was very successful. The machine handled brilliantly though I'm going to make a few fine tune adjustments later today, after I get some sleep."

"I see. Well your face seems to tell me that there is more to tell. Is there?"

Scion started his conversation with a deep breath and a hand through his hair.

"Well, yes. Since my childhood, my teenage years anyway, I've hated Coordinators. I was fearful of them because they were better then me and I knew this but didn't want to believe it. So for a long time I was never fully confident in myself because I always felt inferior which is why I think this war happened."

"Go on."

"Today I beat two GINN's and five DINN's. But more then that I beat seven Coordinators and even though I had the better machine but I was still outnumbered by four then three supposedly better pilots and warriors…and I won. Today I learned that what you said was right, that I can become just as good as them in anything I want to, I just have to work as hard as badly as I want to prove myself. Even if I am half of what they are it gives hope to me that naturals may rise to the challenge given the chance. Today Doc….I found my confidence and now I think I can rebuild my self-esteem and my life. Yes, because of you bringing me here and because of that machine I have regained my pride, or at least I'm starting to."

Doc smiled, and stood up. He walked over to Scion and put a hand on his shoulder.

"So you are reborn then?"

"No. Just…myself again. I can take pride in being Scion Kazuma again. Not the Coordinator hating Scion but the Scion I should have been. The one that always tried no matter how far he could fall. Not reborn Doctor Takashi but rebuilt the way I originally was."

The Doctor smiled once more and patted his shoulder. He walked back to his seat and sat down slowly.

"Excellent. That is good news but you should be off. You need sleep."

Scion nodded and stood up a bit to quickly and got nasty head rush.

"Yes sir. Thank you."

As Scion walked to the door the Doc called to him.

"Scion."

"Yes sir?"

"Your eyes. Red right? Well I found that is a distinct trait of Natural Coordinators. Be on the look out."

Scion laughed and nodded. Pigment discoloration his ass.

* * *

_**Authors Notes: **_First big battle in this chapter, and I noticed that it's annoying that I haven't named Scion's Gundam yet but it's for plot reasons so bear with me. Also excuse me for any typos in this chapter. I read it but didn't catch to many but then agian I've always had trouble picking up on my own typos. 

In the next few chapters,2-4 more, we will be getting into the beef of the war with Kira and so on. I'm still deciding on whether to involve Scion in that and watch hin change a few things that I didn't like in the series. You could give your opinions on this as well since I'm struggling with that right now.

Things are coming into full swing here now and soon the first big plot will be coming along. So far everything that has been going on have been leads and prods for Scion to get into a main thing, which then I might take into anime story line or not. Like I said I haven't decided yet.

Another thing I need some help with is that I need reviews. I got one review and Thanks a lot for giving that one review Centurious since it helped me get on this chapter. More reviews makes it easier for me to write more since I know people like this story.

Well that's it for now, enjoy chapter the end of chapter 2...Yes I like to do chapters in part A and B.


	6. Friendship

**Chapter 3: Friendship and ****The Price of Revolution**

**Part A: Friendship**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

**June 23, C.E. 70**

**Doc's Research Lab, 12:00 P.M.**

It had been a while since Scion's first mission. With the results sent in to who ever supports Doc, Scion got a few more covert missions which he came back with the same amount of success. Scion also noticed that more people from the EA seemed to come to Doc, people that left the army through that one man that had helped him. Doc got them all jobs either with him or somewhere else.

It was one very normal day that one very close friend of Scion's came into the Doc's care.

Scion had been told to go see Doc about a new young man from space. He walked through the hall wondering why it was such a big deal to see this man but he didn't see why he shouldn't go, maybe he wanted Scion to pal around with this guy for a while. He came to door and pressed on the pad to give Doc the notice that someone was at his door. A moment later the door opened.

Scion stepped inside the normally light room to find it very dark. Scion slowed down his pace as he looked around for some sign of trap.

"Doc? Are you here?" He called out into the dark room. How a room could become so dark in midday he would never know. Takashi's quarters were always dark and creepy looking to Scion. Dim lights lit the room and only the blue light of a computer showed that any work was being done.

"Yes, Scion. A seat is right in front of you."

Scion found the seat by bumping into it. He sat down and waited for Takashi to tell him what's going on. After a while Scion figured out that he was to talk first.

"So…where is this guy?"

"Sitting to a little to the right of you in another chair."

"Okay…well I can't see in the dark."

The lights came on and Scion turned to the man and instantly froze. The man had long brown hair and looked as if he pulled all his hair up and then let it fall as it may. He was taller then Scion with blue eyes that seemed very sad as Scion looked into them. He had civilian clothes on and stood up to have more muscle then Scion remembered.

"Axle…" Scion stood up as he spoke, facing his old friend.

"How are you Scion?" Axle spoke with a strangely deep voice.

"I'm getting along. What are you doing here?"

"I left. Like you did. You were right about the EA, it just took me longer to find out. I just can't believe you are alive, they said you were dead. Me and Violet tried to say something to the recruiter but he said if we wanted to stay alive we should keep our lips shut. Period."

Scion nodded, he would have the thank the old man one day for saving him and Axle from getting a bullet in their head.

"So, you came here to get away?"

"Correct."

Doc stood up to stop any more conversation between them. He told Scion that he was given the rest of the day off to spend catching up with Axle. Scion thanked the Doctor and the two reunited friends left to get something to eat.

**Restaurant, 2:25 P.M.**

The two men could be seen laughing as they talked about old times, so far they had avoided the current events like the war and Violets condition. It was just like before they joined the military and before Scion had a hand in the Junius Seven incident.

"Yeah, that Coordinator put you down Scion."

"It wasn't that bad!"

"You're kidding! He punched you and knocked the wind out of you!"

Scion grunted but had a smile on his face nonetheless. It was good to talk to Axle again. Finally Axle's face became grim and he pushed some of his food around on his plate.

"Violets dead."

Scion almost chocked on some food and spit the rest unto his plate. He wiped his mouth then stared at Axle in utter confusion. He puit down his fork and knife and looked at his friend sadly.

"How?"

"She…complained about your sudden death. A few days after that she disappeared and that was the last I saw of her and the reason I never said anything."

"I see…."

"It's Blue Cosmos. You wouldn't believe how high up they've gotten in the EA chain of command. I think it was them that sent through the attack on Junius Seven." Axle spoke as if this was common news but then again Orb was far from space and Scion wasn't connected to anyone for information. Even so, something struck Scion odd about that...why would Axle be saying that it was attacked by the EA? Did he have proof?

"So you know that the EA did that?"

"Everyone does. The Coordinators proved it."

"Ah." Scion muttered, but even with that information...something didn't quite fit. He spoke about the incident a little too openly.

Axle pushed his plate aside. A waitress came around and picked up Axle's plate and Scion's, even though he wasn't done yet.

"I've been given a tech job with Takashi and I hear you are the pilot of a new machine. I wasn't told about it though."

"I probably can't tell you then."

Axle nodded. It was understandable after all.

"It's not a problem. I'm just going to work hard and make a living."

Scion smiled and nodded. He paid for the bill and then stood up.

"I have to get to work. I'll see you around."

"You too Scion. Good to see you again."

Scion nodded and the too shook each others hands. They smiled again and Scion left the Restaurant. He was happy to see his friend but was a little unnerved by how cold his friends hand felt. And then he didn't like how the strange ties of fate lead them together again. He looked over his shoulder at his friend but instead of seeing his friend he found a stranger in his place...it was then that he realized how far apart they were.

**Doc's Research Lab, 4:00 P.M.**

Scion wiped his brow, Doc has been putting Scion into new space simulations so that he could develop an OS for combat in space. He found that it was a lot harder then fighting in a plane and this was more so since he kept expecting to hit the ground any minute.

His friend Axle had been put in the area of helping with new idea's and how to make them work. He was soon hailed as the one who found out how to increase the maximum power output for the new engine, the Proton Multiplier Engine which used the energy that the proton create when they pull to a nucleus, Axle thought that they should also harness the power that the protons created when they react to the electrons. It was a bit of a hassle at first due to the process of keeping the power going for a given period of time without one of the parties, the protons, electrons or the nucleus giving way. He was well liked and given a lot of respect after giving the thought, which he did accidentally by telling a joke to lighten the mood after the group had all but given up.

Ever since then Axle was accepted into the group of techs around him, they asked him to go places with them after work and do things and so on. Scion was glad he was making good friends and that people were liking him in the group though he found it hard to get a hold of him and talk to him in length.

Later that day he walked by Yumi who he had taken a liking too, though he would never ask her out or anything since he was still sixteen, turning seventeen, and she was a year and half older then her. He didn't know why but the fact that she being a legal adult and him still being a minor unnerved him. Scion decided to stop her to at least say hi...

"Hi Yumi. Where are you heading?"

The women stopped and turned her head, her hair was always in a bun and Scion never could guess how long her hair actually was She wore a long skirt the went past her knee's with a clean white button up shirt. She was the most professional of anyone on site since everyone else wore something more casual.

"Hello Scion. I'm going to talk to Doctor Takashi, I have a idea I would like to run by him for the Gundam."

Scion nodded with an absent mind, the term Gundam had taken by everyone since it sounded catchy, and it was easier then G-Weapon or Prototype mobile suit. Besides that he was off wondering why he didn't ask her out, wondering if it would really be that weird considering their age?

_Come on, Scion. What's the worst she can do besides reject you? This isn't grade school.._

"Scion? Are you okay?" Yumi said after she noticed that he was spaced out. She noticed that he did this almost every time they talked. If she wasn't so busy she'd ask him why but she didn't have time to get into a younger man's head. That was the Doctors Takashi's job to keep everyone mentally correct and alert.

"Huh? Oh! Yeah I'm fine. Was just thinking about what kind of new upgrade you could give to the Gundam."

"Well, it's an anti-armor shotgun attachment. Like the bayonet attachment. It's for large ships and for other heavy armor enemies."

"Hey, that would have been handy in that last mission with that damn carrier."

"I'm sure it would have been. In truth there isn't much we can do for weaponry. Since the Gundam has the Funnels with it anything we could give it would just be extra since it's battle strength is already extremely high."

"Yeah, I've been able to take on a total of four enemies at once so far with not so much trouble."

Yumi nodded again, she had pulled a pencil from a pouch around her waist and was chewing on the end as she thought, a strange habit of hers.

"With the Psycho-Frame a person with some spatial awareness could use the funnels at a degree to where an experienced pilot would be in trouble."

Scion's self-esteem dropped to a negative number. Did she think him a novice pilot and a weakling without the funnels? His head hung slightly and he said nothing. He felt his ego get smashed by a large hammer that came out of her mouth and wacked him over and over again.

"Though with you as the pilot we see that the Gundam is able to go far beyond it's normal parameters." Yumi said while still staring off, she obviously didn't even recognize that Scion had thought she was insulting him. Which she hadn't meant to. She chewed harder on her pencil.

"Really? I was able to use it beyond it's predicted battle strength?" Scion's hopes were raising with her praise.

"Well…the battle strength we predicted with a Natural anyway. It's not at it's full potential yet but it's getting their…"

Scion anime sweat dropped as Yumi started ranting on how the suit could be better if they had better funding and it's flaws and so on. Scion just listened the whole time until the intercom called Yumi Akechi to Doctor Takashi's office. She jumped and then realized she was was very very late. Without even so much as a good bye she was gone down the hall leaving Scion still wanting to ask her out

"Damn it...what's wrong with you Scion!." Scion said as he sulked out of the research lab heading for his apartment.

**June 23, C.E. 70**

**Doctor Takashi's Private Chamber, 12:00 P.M**

Doc called Scion for a meeting to talk. He did this every now and then to talk to Scion about how things were going, in ways Doc was the father Scion never had.

Scion walked into the Doctors office to see him, as usual, sitting in his oh-so expensive recliner. He was facing the wall looking at some documents and didn't seem to notice Scion's entrance, or it looked to be so.

"Doctor? You called for me?" Scion said as he sat down in the only chair around.

"Yes, one moment."'

_So he did know I was here…figures. He has to have eyes in the back of his head. Wierd old guy.  
_

Scion sat in silence wondering what the Doc would want from him. He normally set up an appointment when he wanted to talk but it seemed that this was urgent or something since he pulled him out of the simulator for it.

_Please let this be about anything other then Yumi. I bet she told Doc how she was late because of me. Oh please…not that, anything but that.  
_

"Are you okay Scion? You look uneasy." The Doc had turned around and was noticing that Scion was squirming in his seat.

"It's nothing. Just a sudden bad feeling." Scion lied to get himself out of explaining anything.

"I see. Well I have something to talk to you about."

"Yeah? What is it."

"I would like to talk to you about what will happen after the Gundam is done with all it's testing and is ready for…'use'."

"Ah. Don't you have a plan for it?"

Doctor Takashi stood up and walked around the room leaving Scion a bit worried. Doc had never been one to have a loss for words.

"You see Scion I have two children, one a Natural and one a Coordinator. I did this so that maybe the two could get along." Doctor Takashi seemed very sad and disturbed talking about this.

Scion made no response. The Doc's voice was just so sad and in truth what the Doc was saying made no sense so he would wait to see if it made sense in a bit.

"The Girl is the Coordinator and the boy is the Natural. For the first few years it was fine…"

"Until they got older and the sister started growing faster then the boy." Scion said aburptly.

"Exactly. My daughter is a couple years older then you while the boy is your exact age. My daughter even changed her last name because she didn't want to be affiliated with a Natural."

"Do you know where she is now?"

"Yes….she's in Orb and I see her but it's…different...She refuses to see me as he father."

"I'm sorry that something like that happened to you Doc, but, what does that have to do with this?"

Doctor Takashi sighed and began pacing again, this time stopping at his desk in front of a picture of his family, though Scion couldn't see it.

"I started working for Orb because they were neutral and I hoped that with them being as such that Coordinators and Natural could get along….but as you know Orb is working with the EA now and can't be trusted. Thus…my plans have been destroyed."

"If that's the case then why did you continue to build the Gundam?"

Takashi quickly turned to look at Scion, the expression one of hope but with everything Scion had heard he wondered if it was only false hope.

"Because! I want to bring this war to an end. I want peace between ZAFT and the EA without a genocide, like Blue Cosmos is trying to achieve."

"How is a war machine going to do that? Fight both sides?"

Doctor Takashi said nothing. He simply stared at Scion showing that this was to be the case. He wanted his machine to be a renegade machine striking at both the EA and ZAFT?

"If the war drags on long enough or if enough lives are taken then the war will end. The people will get tired of going to war when they know they will die but I can't wait for the war to end that way. I need ZAFT and the EA to lost so much that the war will just not be worth if anymore. I'm telling you this because---"

"You want me to pilot the Gundam?" Scion cut the Doctor off. He knew where this was going.

"Yes…I want you because you are half of both worlds. With your abilities you could go to the PLANTS around the Coordinators or go to Earth and fit in. You could be the key to a revolution. I know that it sounds far fetched and impossible but.."

"You want me to make friends on both sides and make enemies on both sides. It still leaves a lot of holes in your plan."

Doctor Takashi sat back down in his seat and nodded to Scion. How would Scion keep up with his Gundam's repairs and he would need a ship to get him into space or he would be stuck fighting the ZAFT ground forces.

"Yes. It leaves a lot to be done. I have a number of contacts in both the EA and Orb who would be willing to help you. You will have to make your own ZAFT contacts, I would try meeting the someone high up from ZAFT who wants peace with the EA when this all gets moving…. I have only one contact and he has distanced himself some time ago."

Scion leaned back in his seat, it was definitely far fetched and thinking in real terms it was just a fools dream.

"It's very vague Doc…very weak for a plan."

"I know. This is why I ask you, you Scion Kazuma. I ask that you will do this for me. I ask that you will make it okay for Coordinators and Naturals to co-exist."

Scion sighed and began thinking. Could he really make a difference? Could he really help end this war. Did he deserve the chance with what he had helped do? Wasn't be obligated to for what he had done?

"I'll have to think about it Doc. Think about if I want too or can do what you ask."

"Is it difficult? Is it so far out of sight that you can't see you gaining it?"

"…Doc, you are asking me to bring about a revolution. That is no easy matter."

"I understand. I will give you time to think about it. Oh and take this."

"What is it?"

"A gun. 45mm Magnum to be exact. It's one of my favorite pieces."

"Uhh…why are you giving this to me?"

"I've been getting reports of a spy in our ranks. I want you to be safe is all. You are the only capable pilot."

"Right…thanks, I think." Scion took the gun and put it into his side cargo pocket, Doc never minded that Scion would wear civilian clothes as long as he used a proper pilot suit when using the Gundam.

"That's all. Thanks for listening to me and do think about what I have said, despite how bizarre it is."

Scion nodded and stood up. He would think about it, he had very good reason to think about it.

"Oh, Scion!" Doctor Takashi called after Scion as he reached door.

"Yes?"

"I told Yumi that you would meet her outside the coffee shop tomorrow morning to talk about the Gundam and stuff." Suddenly the Doctor began laughing like an insane man. His trap was sprung. Scion went stiff. So she DID tell him about it. He said nothing and slowly stepped out of the room with the echoing laugh of the Doctor. He did have an evil side.

**Axle's Apartment, 2:10 P.M**

Axle had been laughing for ten minutes nonstop. The kind of laugh that leaves you gasping for air since you couldn't get any while you were laughing, the kind of laugh that makes you red in the face and has you unable to move voluntarily.

Scion was sitting on the recliner, glaring at the ground as if he was trying to see through it. It was humiliating enough that Doc set him up on this 'work appointment' after getting all serious with what he wanted to do with the Gundam but this thing with Axle was just out of hand.

"Come on Axle! It's not that damn funny!" Scion said as he shifted his weight from one side of the chair to the other.

"Yes…it…is!" Axle burst into a new fit of laughing that would go on for another set of five minutes after which he got unto the couch and tried to remain civil.

"Are you done?" Scion asked with an annoyed expression.

"Yeah, I'm cool." Was Axle's response who had to stiffle another bout of laughs.

For the next few hours Scion talked to Axle about stuff going on with the war, the N-Jammer drop and how well ZAFT was doing despite how small it's army was compared to the EA. Axle brought up the object of the spy and wondered who it could be, Scion showed Axle the gun that Doc had given him.

"He gave you one too?" Axle said with a slightly cracked voice.

"What? He gave you one?"

"Yeah. A 45mm Magnum right?"

"I guess. I'm not a gun expert."

"He wanted me to be safe since he thought it would affect your performance if something happened to me."

"I see…well I guess it can't hurt."

"Nope." Axle said with a smile, as if happy about something.

They talked for a bit before deciding that Axle would stop by to see Scion and Yumi so that it wasn't a total bust. At least they could find out if Yumi thought it was a date or not….though Scion wasn't optimistic.

**June 24, C.E. 70**

**Meeting Point, 9:55 A.M**

Scion was early, just five minutes early and he thought that Yumi would be early too since she normally was. He sat on a bench just outside of the town near the research base. While he waited he wondered what Yumi would wear, he had never seen her outside of uniform before.

"Scion! Sorry I'm late!" Yumi hollered as she came down the street. Dressed in fitting blue jeans and a unique looking blouse with a dark looking blue color with some odd designs on it. Her hair was also let down, it's full length going below her an inch or two below her shoulders. Scion kind of thought she looked better in her normal formal attire but assumed he thought that way because she looked so different.

"No, not late. A few minutes early actually. There was no reason to be sorry for being late anyway. It's not a big deal."

"You're right, it's not like were on a date or anything." She said with a little bounce as she sat down next to Scion.

"…Yeah, just a get together." Scion's hopes were crushed and he would have hung his head if Yumi wasn't watching him.

They talked for a long while about the war and the Gundam. Scion tuned her out when she started blabbering about it again. She seemed to want the EA to win though and talked about the Earth Alliance's 8th fleet.

_She must know someone in the 8th fleet. Perhaps a family member or something. None of my business though._

Scion came back to the real world and made a few interjections about his views on the world. How he believes the Naturals could get along if they just stopped being so jealous of Coordinators…as he once was. Yumi though that it was an impossibility for the world to be that way.

"Yeah…that's what everyone told me. Axle, my mother, you, and anyone else. The only person who didn't shoot my idea down was Doc himself." Ever since that talk with Doc, Scion had wanted more and more to have a peaceful relationship between the two worlds.

"People are just to jealous and besides, Coordinators should never have happened. Humans will evolve on their own." It had been the third time she had said that to him since he had met her. She seemed to have something against Coordinators though he couldn't figure out what, she was really good at her job and was the most able tech under Doc, some even said she was better then Doc. Everyone was sure she would take on the job after Doc retired.

A weird silence fell over them after that, Scion didn't know what to say to what Yumi said and he guessed Yumi thought she might have been a little too forthcoming. Someone broke the silence for them.

"Don't move or I'll have to shoot the lady."

Scion and Yumi both stiffened, Yumi quicker then Scion since she had the gun to her back. Scion could see his shadow from where he sat, he was crouching behind the bench to make it look like he was talking to Scion and Yumi.Like close pals..

"What…do you want?" Yumi spoke as collected as she could, Scion would have spoke first if he hadn't been thinking about the mans standing/crouching position.

"Takashi, his research. I want everything you know about it and please don't say that you don't know what I'm talking about cause that's a load of bull shit." The man must have been wearing a mask or something over his mouth to hide his real voice.

Scion and Yumi said nothing, Scion was to frozen to think. His silence was broken when Yumi gasped from the gun being pressed harder into her back.

"It's a weapon!" Scion hoarsely spat out.

"What kind?"

"Mobile suit."

"Scion, no!" Yumi gave him a look telling him to stop but Scion stared forward and didn't catch it.

"Shut up girl. Now what can it do."

"What do you mean? It destroys things…"

"Don't play dumb with me boy. Weapons, systems, things like that."

"Beam Rifles and Sabers, Anti-Armor Shotgun…" Scion explained everything except the Psycho-Frame and said that the funnels were just extra boosters that could be dropped if needed for some reason.

"Orb is really pushing it's luck these days."

"Just let us go."

"Sorry. You'll tell Takashi that someone knows about his project and he'll move it somewhere else…sorry can't do it."

Scion eyes became very wide and he could hear Yumi's sobs as she tried to stay together. Scion closed his eyes feeling completely helpless and unable to at least get Yumi out of this.

**_-Bang-_**

Scion darted up ready to knock that man out before he was shoot again only to find the man laid out on the floor with a bullet in the side of his head. Scion looked in the direction of the bullet to see Axle holding the Magnum that Doc had given him. Axle seemed a bit shocked and dropped the gun after a moment of staring between him and Scion, but quickly recovered the weapon.

It was then that Yumi decided that holding herself together was not needed so she broke down into tears, happy that she was alive and scared that she almost died. Axle tilted his head to Yumi, signaling Scion to comfort her. Scion sat back down next to her and put an arm around her trying to calm her down while Axle called for Doc to tell him what happened.

Scion and Axle exchanged glances and Axle shook his head. Not that Scion expected Axle to give an explanation anyway.

**June 25, C.E. 70**

**Scion's Apartment, 5:00 A.M**

Scion lay on his bed staring at the ceiling with both hands under his head. Doc got very upset when he found out what had happened. Axle got a big bonus and was hailed as a hero for the remainder of the day. Scion rolled unto his side and looked at the gun on the small dresser next to his bed. Axle's had saved him and Yumi today. He reached for it and pulled the top of the gun back, popping the bullet in the chamber up into the air. Scion watched the bullet fall unto the floor before putting the gun back.

Scion had felt that the whole thing happened because of his damn crush on Yumi. He decided not to try and ask her out since it was dangerous and he knew he would be leaving if he accepted the Doc's offer.

All night Scion had thought about his new friends and his old ones and thought about their friendship…and what the it would cost him to have them by his side.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_This chapter was not to eventful in terms of action but was actually a very important chapter as far as plot goes. This chapter was a look into Scion's relationships with his closest freinds at the time, Doc, Axle, and Yumi. Sorry if some people didn't like this chapter cause it wasn't has action packed as some of the others. 

Also, this is the longest chapter I've done and with that said I will have missed some typos and grammer errors. I'm sorry for that in advance but I have a thing about not being able to get my own errors until I read them later on.

So I hope you all enjoy this chapter which sets up for the next which will be the, in my opinion, the best chapter yet.


	7. The Price of Revolution

**Chapter 3: The Friendship and The Price of Revolution  
**

**Part B: The Price of Revolution  
**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own the song,"45", by Shinedown, nor did I write it or claim to own it in anyway.**_

**June 29, C.E. 70**

**Forward ZAFT Base, 11:00 A.M.**

Scion pulled back on the controls to avoid stepping into a ditch. ZAFT had been sending more men to set up a base to spy on Orb with, they must have reason to think Orb is helping the EA. Scion destroyed this base each time with each new base having less defenses put into them.

_Only two GINN's were here, ZAFT must be giving up on this and pulling men back to fight the EA.. Good, they can leave us alone now._

His work done, Scion decided to head back to base. He didn't like leaving the base anymore, everyone was one edge after that last attack on him and Yumi. People had been leaving for a while and others, like Yumi, had closed themselves up and didn't see anyone anymore. It was sad.

Axle was promoted to deal with the sudden employee drop. He didn't like the job since it put a lot of pressure on him. Plus, Doc didn't want a lot of security around since it would make everyone well uneasy with all the guns around. Either way it meant things were going very badly.

Not only that but Doc was seeing that the Gundam was going to be done well before the GAT-X series was enough near completion, which was the original plan so that Scion wouldn't get so must attention if he decided to pilot it into combat. The plan to just have it be a mobile suit of the EA gone renegade was shot to nothing.

Scion made his way back to base, feeling very on edge, like everyone else, since everything was appearing to fall apart around him.

**Mobile Suit Hanger/Doc's Research Base, 1:00 P.M.**

The cockpit opened and Scion stepped out into the hanger bay for the lone mobile suit. The mechanics were already swarming over the Gundam to get on with repairs and so on. Scion merely hopped unto the raised platform next to the cockpit and waited as it lowered him to the ground.

Scion talked with a few of the mechanics about a glitch in the right arm and it's slow reaction time, they agreed to look into it and see if it was a malfunction, all of the mechanics were being paid double since a lot of the mechanics left leaving only the fanatic ones behind, the ones that will never let anything happen to this machine. Scion thanked them and then went on his way. Maybe he'd go see Yumi, he hadn't seen her since the incident and to add to that he hasn't heard anything from her or about her. Axle stayed in touch, though much less since the attack.

He made his way through the halls of the research base, everyone was very quiet as if they were afraid to speak because they didn't want to be accused of being a spy which they would realize was stupid if they just thought about it for a bit, but even Doc pulled away and didn't see everyone as much as he used too.

_**-RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING-**_

Scion's head jerked up as the fire alarm went off. No sooner had he looked at everyone were they running to the exit to escape being burnt alive. Scion followed suit, he would have gone to the hangar to make sure the Gundam was okay but he knew it could survive a fire and besides that the mechanics would never let anything happen to it.

Everyone ran in one direction, all of them knowing the way to the nearest exit. As they made their way to the exit more and more people joined up with them and continued to run to the front entrance, their exit.

When the group came into the sunlight one of the oldest of the group began calling a head count. Scion began looking for Yumi, Doc, and Axle to see if they were okay. Someone said Yumi was okay since she wasn't at work today and Doc was unaccounted for.

"Has anyone seen Axle?" Scion hollered to get someone's attention.

"Axle said he was going to make sure that Doc got out okay! He never left the building!" One of the techs that had joined up with them on the way said.

"What!" Scion yelled as he ran over to the tech and grabbed him by the collar.

"It's true! He said he was obligated to make sure that Doc was okay…so he…"

"Damn it!"

Scion shoved the man away from him and ran back into the building. He had to save Axle and help him get Doc out if he was still inside. But something became very obvious as he made his way through the building.

_Why are their no fires? None of the sprinkles are going off either. What's going on!_

Then it dawned on him, maybe it was another spy trying to get everyone out so that he could steal the data on the Gundam. That meant Axle and perhaps Doc were in trouble! Scion reached for his pocket and pulled out the gun that Doc had given him. He hoped he wouldn't have to use it.

He was half way there when he noticed the smell of something awful. He stopped and investigated finding three dead security guards. This put the fear of god into Scion, his worst fear had come true. Without thinking anymore he ran double time to Doc's headquarters.

_Please be okay, damn it be okay. Neither of you better be dead damn it._

Scion reached the door and found it had been opened alright but they must have hacked in because the door was intact. He punched in the codes and sprang into the dark room, all the lights were off, pointing his gun at the computer screen which was the only source of light and the man that sat in front of it. He couldn't make out the mans face from this distance and soon the door behind him slid closed leaving him in a very dark room.

"Who are you and where is Doctor Takashi!" Scion demanded as he clicked the safety off his gun, though he could feel his hands shaking as he held it.

The man stood up and he seemed to laugh silently while shaking his head.

"You just had to intervene." The man said as he pointed his hand at Scion who soon heard the clicking of a safety telling him it was a gun being pointed at him.

"What does that mean! We don't even know each other." Scion said as he gripped the gun with both hands, a sure sign of weakness.

" **_-Sighs-_** Why are you being so naïve? Are you so dense that you would need light to know who I am Scion Kazuma!"

Before the lights came on Scion knew who it was, who else would call him by his full name, a few others had but they never did it more then once. The lights then came on by command and showed the man to be Axle Maverick. Scion slinked back to the wall after this revelation hit him.

" **_-Gasp- _**Axle…what…what are you doing!"? Scion demanded of his life long friend.

"What am I doing? I'm stealing the research data on this mobile suit. I am then taking it back to the Earth Alliance what else?"

"You said…you said you left them!"

"Left them? Are you nuts? They are the only way we can destroy the Coordinator menace."

"That sounds like Blue Cosmos talking!"

"I am Blue Cosmos." With that said Axle showed a small badge given to him to show he was indeed a Blue Cosmos member.

"…Why Axle, why are you doing this!"

"Why? Because the Coordinators have to die is why! The N-Jammer drop killed millions and are starving millions more! At least the EA was using nukes to end the war! ZAFT was using the Jammers to keep the war going! That drop killed all of my Earth side relatives!"

"That doesn't explain why you are here!"

"I'm here to capture that machine to use against the enemy or to destroy it. I just never expected to see you here. It was a good hunch after all to kill that recruiter."

Scion went pale, Axle killed the only man in the EA that wasn't loyal to Blue Cosmos. He gritted his teeth in confusion, how could someone change so suddenly like this, why Axle?

Axle decided to put more coals in the fire.

"Oh yeah, I killed Violet too. To show I was loyal to Blue Cosmos. Poor girl" Axle bragged after seeing how hurt Scion was with the first bit of information.

Again Scion felt his heart drop. This couldn't be right, how could someone like Axle change so much in such a short amount of time.

"So you are out for revenge! If everyone got revenge after war we would never stop fighting!"

"I don't care what you think Scion! I know that if we don't stop the Coordinators they will take everything from us Naturals!"

"If we just got over our differences we could get along!"

_**-BANG-**_

Axle shot at the ground in front of Scion. His face showing extreme anger. Scion had never seen him so angry, even when he was telling him that he was leaving the EA.

"Don't you '_ever' _say something like that again! Everyone in the EA, and almost every good Natural would despise you for saying that! Do you know how many people the Coordinators have ruined because they were _'made' _better? Too many! I won't stand for it! Those freaks have taken everything from me, my pride, almost all of my family and now they've taken you!"

Scion was at a lose of words. He just didn't know what to say, the people of ZAFT and the EA had in their mind every reason to attack the other. Both sides were right and both sides were wrong.

"Don't make me kill you Scion. Just step aside and let me take the machine. I don't want to have to kill a Natural, even if he is confused about who's side he's on."

"…..I can't let you take that machine. It too important to Doc for it to be stolen or destroyed. It's his dream!"

"Dreams are for fools and the only reason we dream is because we can't have what we want in real life."

Scion steadied the gun and pointed it at Axle. He stood straight up from his slouching position.

_How many people spent years working on this, how many years had Doc worked on this machine. How many people did I kill before realizing that this war was wrong no matter how you looked at it….how many people will have to die before the rest of the world realizes it?_

"I can't…."

At that moment a sound began playing, Axle and Scion looked over to see it was Doc's radio. It was set to come on at a certain time and play whatever was on. It was that time.

**Send away for a priceless gift**

**  
One not subtle, one not on the list**

**  
Send away for a perfect world**

**  
One not simply, so absurd**

**  
In these times of doing what you're told**

**  
You keep these feelings, no one knows**

**  
What ever happened to the young man's heart**

**  
Swallowed by pain, as he slowly fell apart**

**  
And I'm staring down the barrel of a 45,**

**  
Swimming through the ashes of another life**

**  
No real reason to accept the way things have changed**

**  
Staring down the barrel of a 45 **

As the words played through Scion's head it reminded him of what him and Doc both wanted and what was happening to him because of this war and this hate between Natural and Coordinators. It was true what they said…Scion was slowly falling apart and Axle was speeding the process by stabbing him where he couldn't protect himself. His heart.

**Send a message to the unborn child**

**  
Keep your eyes open for a while**

**  
In a box high up on the shelf, left for you, no one else **

**  
There's a piece of a puzzle known as life**

**  
Wrapped in guilt, sealed up tight**

**  
What ever happened to the young man's heart**

**  
Swallowed by pain, as he slowly fell apart**

Again, Scion felt a similarity between this song and his own life. Every child, like himself, were going to be born into this world of hate and war, the puzzle of life it spoke of. He was one of those children. The gift was pretty on the outside and it was only for you…but it was only pretty on the outside. Again, he felt the more then ever how he was slowly breaking down….and he never even noticed it happening.

The chorus finally hit home with Scion. He was literally staring down the barrel of a 45mm Magnum, the irony. As he stared at Axle he also saw that he too was breaking down, through their conversation and this whole ordeal he was swimming through what was left of Axle's life, the ashes of his once happy existence destroyed by this war.

**Everyone's pointing their fingers**

**  
Always condemning me**

**  
And nobody knows what I believe**

**  
I believe **

Another point, mocking Scion's as it showed that everyone was and would be condemning him for wanting the world that he and Doc wanted. In that instant he made a vow to carry Doc's burden, to make the whole world know what he believed and why he believed it. He would carry out Doc's Revolution. He would see to it's bearing of fruit.

_**­-Shhhhh-**_

The sound of a sliding door could be heard and it was Doctor Takashi. The Doctors eyes shot open as he saw them pointing the guns at each other.

And in that instant all ties between Axle and Scion were cut, all of their years together were erased as if they had never happened, in that instant instinct took over. Axle's eyes glowed and Scion knew that he was going to kill him and then the Doc and in that same instant he knew that he had to kill Axle.

It was inevitable.

_**BANG BANG**_

Doctor Takashi sat wide eyes as both men staggered back, Scion sliding down the wall into a sitting position and Axle falling straight to the ground. Scion shot in the stomach and Axle between the eyes.

In the silence the song finished with these words, to mock Scion...to mock his existance.

**And I'm staring down the barrel of a 45 (45),**

**  
(And I'm) Swimming through the ashes of another life (another life)**

**  
(There is) No real reason to accept the way things have changed**

**  
Staring down the barrel of a 45  
**

Scion stared straight ahead at the collapsed figure in front of him and despite how it was known to men that crying was a sign of weakness Scion couldn't stop the tears from coming. His best friend lay dead because of him, Violet lay dead because she spoke out for him, the recruiter lay dead because he helped him, and all the people on Junius Seven…who else would die because of him?

_**-RIIIIIIIIIIIIIING-**_

The alarm for an attack was issued through the automatic system. Scion stared up still fazed from everything. The Doc has said nothing and needed to say nothing. Scion stood up with the wound in his gut still bleeding but no one else would die because of him today, to many people had died because of him already and he would see no more because of him.

"I'm taking the Gundam. No more deaths today."

"Okay. I'll get the rest of the techs inside to help with the automated defenses and to guide you."

Scion nodded and with a slow start Scion made his way to the Hangar Bay and his Gundam.

**Above Doc's Research Base, 2:30 P.M.**

A sizable EA fleet was coming to confiscate the Gundam or destroy it. Two capital ships along with 4 carriers, if it was a Gundam then they would need a lot of fire power to fight it. The crew of the ships watched as they came closer to the fort. Soon they would demand the machine or they would begin to bombard the lab.

**Hangar Bay, 2:30 P.M.**

Scion was strapped in to the Gundam. It was fueled and equipped with everything that was made for it, it had no optional armaments. It was ready for launch.

"Scion." Doc's voice came over the com.

"Yeah?"

"We have everything up and running. This is will be the last or the launch before the last. My plan goes into action as of now. You have to make a choice."

"Consider your revolution in the making, Doc."

"…Thank you, Scion."

"Don't thank me yet." Scion brought up the starting screen and began a quick run through as the Gundam was lifted unto the catapult.

"Ready to launch Scion."

"Roger."

"**3..."**

"**2..."**

"**1..."**

"Scion Kazuma, launching!"

From a concealed position in the base the machine everyone was looking for could be seen being thrust into the air by a linear catapult. The completed Gundam with no name headed right for the enemy fleet which was easily in view. The fleet's carriers dispatched it's mobile armors into the air to intercept the enemy machine.

"No one's getting near that base!" Scion cried as he pushed the thrusters with the funnels to full strength. The response was the capital ships anti-air missiles being launched while the Mobile Armors shot at him with random weapons ranging from missiles to the linear gun. They all collided on the mobile suit causing a semi-large explosion. The attacking fleet waiting to see what remained of the enemy suit.

From the smoke came purple lights as the vision of a mobile suit surrounded in a purple energy casing.

"You'll have to do better then missiles to get through this shield. Maybe you should try the main guns on this lone mobile suit!" Scion spoke harshly, but he knew that most of the missiles blew up in the explosion and he knew he was starting to get sloppy since his wound was only covered up and not really taken care of.

"You insolent little! He wants the main guns! Fire the main guns! Aim at the machine but if he dodges it I want it to blow the base!" The commander of the fleet barked. The other crew mumbled about how easy the pilot aggravated the man but followed orders. Soon Scion could see that they were going to fire the main guns.

"Shit…I can't block that."

"Scion! This is Takashi. Dodge the shot, I got a plan."

"You sure?"

"Very."

In the base Doctor Takashi looked at everyone around him. They all knew what he was advising and they slowly nodded. They stood up and each spoke out stating that they would be happy to give whatever was needed to see that suit go free and that it's data not fall into the enemy hands.

Since the suit was in combat it would never be capture that left only the data. Doctor Takashi nodded and sat back down and so did everyone else, though they never went back to work…

­**_-BZZZZTTT-_**

The odd noise of the main gun firing could be see and Scion had already moved out of the way, but they seemed intent on using the base as a way to get him to intercept the blast. They fired and Scion watched as the blast traveled down to the base.

"What is your plan Doc!"

"To let it hit us…"

"What!" Scion turned his machine as the blast traveled past him. He gave chase hoping to catch it.

"We need to destroy any evidence that this machine existed or was built here. You are then to do with that machine as you please. It's yours, I give it to you."

The fleet gave chase to the fleeing Gundam as it tried to catch the beam, Scion was again feeling that he was killing everyone around him.

"Doc, damn it why!"

"It's okay boy. We've all decided on this, there is a booklet under your seat with information…. you are our legacy now. Complete what we started….for all of us."

"DOC!"

_**-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM-**_

Scion froze, along his machine as the whole base went up in smoke. Destroyed along with his friends, his pals, his would be father, and his life. Again he saw his life crumble away by the act of war. Scion turned his Gundam around to face the enemy. His enemy, and the enemy of Doc and everyone that died.

The enemy of his beliefs.

In that instant Scion felt a growth inside of him, a purpose that was blossoming inside of himself. A reason to stand up and against this war, a reason to pick himself up and never look back. It was Doc's dream that was now his. In this instant he was a renegade mobile suit pilot. ((An explanation of Scion's SEED mode and it's first happening.))

He was a new person, a man that knew what needed to be done and what needed to be done was to destroy this fleet and regain Doctor Takashi's honor. He looked at all his opponents with glossy eyes. The enemy stayed still while waiting for the machine to make it's move.

In a flash of jet fire and moving metal, the funnels detached from the mobile suit and launched themselves in groups of two at the enemy with the Gundam moving towards one of the enemy carriers. The ships began firing at the Gundam and the fast moving funnels. Soon explosions filled the air as the funnels were too small to hit, and they didn't have a radar signal for locking on. The fast moving mobile suit was just to far beyond the mobile armors for them to make any sort of difference against the enemy machine.

All the while Scion was sitting in the cockpit of his mobile suit as his eyes darted from one direction to the other. He sat completely relaxed with his fingers twitching on the trigger of his machine's weapons when he needed to fire them. The funnels moved with fantastic speed and deadly accuracy, Scion in his increased state of spatial awareness magnified by the Psycho-Frame gave him super-human control over the weapons.

"My god. It's destroying the entire mobile armor attack force." One of the soldiers in the commanders ship stated in awe of the mobile suits power and the pilots prowess.

"It's just one machine, how can it do all this! We have six ships!"

"With those things flying around it's like we're fighting seven enemies and the mobile armors have to lock on manually and they're to small to hit with our own weapons and the enemy mobile suit is too close to our allies. At this rate it will have us all destroyed in roughly ten minutes."

"….Order a retreat. Now. Call back the pilots and I want a full retreat. Now!"

On the outside Scion had reached one of the carriers and punched a hole in it with the anti-armor shotgun attachment that was equipped from the last sortie. One more shot to the bridge had it heading straight for the ground. All over the funnels were cleaning up the weak mobile armors that just couldn't stand up to the beam weaponry they had equiped. As the battle dragged on and the fleet began it's withdraw the Funnels began grouping together into larger groups until finally they met up with Scion.

"Got you." Scion said as he came on the next carrier, he aimed all the funnels along with the anti-armor shotgun at the carrier. The combined power caused it to explode. He then set his sights on the next one and made for it, blasting through a few mobile armors with the beam rifle as they made a hasty retreat.

_That's right…run…run as far and as fast as you can._

Scion reattached the funnels to give him a burst of speed. The new speed allowed him to easily get to the last of the carriers which he dropped his beam rifle and unleashed his beam saber. He raised the saber and brought it down cutting at the bridge of the ship and also causing enough damage to destroy it. The other had retreated a while ago. He then turned his attention to the now drifting capital ships.

"Can I get them from here?" Came Scion's soft almost sleepy voice. His calm was not natural that he knew but at this point he didn't care. He aimed the beam rifle, the funnels detached once again and aimed as well.

_**-BZZZT-**_

The beams from the beam rifle and the funnels streamed across the sky at the enemy ship. Whether they made contact or not he didn't know. He did know that the ship didn't go down….it was lucky.

**Unknown Point, 5:30 P.M.**

Scion sat in the cockpit of 'his' machine. He sat reading through the booklet that the Doc has said was under his seat. It had a place to go if this should happen. It also had a number of contacts to go see and how to contact them should they need to be contacted.

For the next few hours Scion thought about everything that had happened to him in the last months. The betrayal of the EA, Axle's betrayal, the killing of Doc, the disappearance of Yumi, and the revolution he was to bring about. As he finished those thoughts another came to him. He quickly pulled down the keyboard and began putting in commands.

"Yes….that is your name….." Scion said as the screen blinked once then confirmed the given code name for the machine.

It's name…was Revolution….Gundam Revolution.

* * *

_**Author's Notes: **_I was looking forward to this chapter so much that I did it all in one day. Most of the plots come full circle here, giving you some answers, some questions and some dark places where you are like what's gonna happen next. This is by far the biggest fighting scene and will be the first of many to come since we are into the bulk of the story now. 

I don't know what the EA earth forces are. I'm not sure that the Mobile Armors of the EA can be used Earth side but they don't have anything else besides normal fighter planes so I'll just say they are MA's(mobile armors)

The song was a nice touch I think since it had so much to do with the story up to this point and I mean that both literally and figuratively(sp?)

Also, I decided to change the name of this chapter since I found a better name for it. Sorry for the change.

Well I hope you all enjoyed this and will read more as Scion moves into yet another huge change in his life as a renegade Gundam Pilot.


	8. Redemption?

**Chapter 4: Redemption?**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

**June 30, C.E. 70**

**Rendezvous Point, 11:00 A.M.**

Scion Kazuma, pilot of the Revolution Gundam created by Doctor Takashi to be used by Orb to help defend it's independence before everything went wrong, sat in the cockpit of the powerful machine, the first of it's kind. He was told by the booklet left behind by Doctor Takashi to head to certain coordinates after sending a signal on a precise frequency, there to wait for the man or women who would provide him a haven while he decided on his next, and first, move.

Scion has long since come out of his trance like mode that enabled him greater feats in battle then he thought could be possible for him. He had surpassed even his own expectations in the last battle but didn't know what could trigger such a change.

He decided to get a little fresh air so he opened the cockpit and got to the ground, the Gundam was laying on it's back. Once there he did a few stretches to get the kinks out of his body then ran in circles to get the sleeping feeling in his legs that he got from sitting so long.

_I'm so tired… _

And it was true, the battle had worn Scion out mentally and his body was also drained since his wound had only stopped bleeding because the blood dried and clotted the wound. He was so very tired and ever alert. At this point even thinking was hard on Scion.

**_-Sigh-_** "Maybe they were stopped by something? Maybe someone caught unto them or something….either way I don't like how this is turning out." Scion's voice was hoarse since his throat was dry and he was beginning to feel sick.

_**-VROOOM-**_

The sound of a truck came from the west and Scion turned to see it was a large truck, a very large truck with a huge trailer attached to the truck. It approached and Scion found himself reaching for his gun, the very same that ended Axle's life, incase he needed to use it.

The doors opened and two people got out of the truck and approached him. Scion stayed on guard as they walked forward…he wouldn't lose this machine after everything he went through.

"Hello, Mr.Kazuma. We are here to take you to the haven according to Doctor Takashi."

"How do I know I can trust you?"

"You don't. You get in the truck or don't, your choice."

_Some choice…_

"Fine. I'm staying in the cockpit though."

"That's fine. Load your machine into the trailer."

"I guess it opens up then?"

"Yes."

"Got it."

Scion then turned and jogged over to Revolution and brought the machine to life, the eyes glowing a yellow color to show it's activation. The trailer opened up with the left side folding out and the top folding up and then falling to the ground with the right. Scion piloted his Gundam to the trailer and laid it down on the bottom part of the trailer where the trailer then folded back up and concealed the mobile suit.

"Can you hear me Mr. Kazuma?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Just telling you that we are closing the rear door now. It won't be opened again until we get to the Haven."

"Okay…"

Scion felt a bit better about how they were acting towards him. Not to concerned about his feelings towards them meant they weren't trying to gain his trust. Just trying to get him to the Haven...or so he hoped.

Soon the truck was moving and Scion could tell it was turning slowly around and heading back the way it came. The ride seemed to be extremely slow but that was probably because he was used to going at high speeds…..a long ride was ahead.

**On the Road, 11:10 A.M**

Scion had a lot of time to think now that he could relax, for a while at least. He checked his wound to see that it wasn't bleeding again, it was good news. His mind whirled through everything from his early years of life to the here and now.

Everything seemed to happen for no reason until just a few hours ago when things that occurred at Junius Seven finally caught up with him. Axle was corrupted by his hate and Scion would have too if not for the commander that told him of the attack which made him choose to leave before the N-Jammer drop, which would be pissed him off to no ends he was sure.

_Why? Why is this all happening? Why do I survive while the others die, why am I condemned? Why did they die in my place!_

Throughout the ride, and before the ride, Scion was tormented by the thought. He had committed such terrible acts starting with his initial hate of Coordinators to the Doc sacrificing him and everyone else so that he, a man that does not deserve to be saved, could live on.

He knew he didn't deserve it, yet he would take what was given to him and move forward for Doctor Takashi, he gave Scion a goal and a reason to move on, a reason to live on, a reason to fight on, a reason to exist.

With these thoughts in his head Scion tried to get some sleep.

...It never came.

**The Haven, 2:00 P.M.**

Scion awoke to the opening of the trailer, he evidently did fall asleep after a while, and he waited and then heard someone speak through a megaphone for him to exit the machine, the voice said it was to dangerous to use the radio in this area so they had to use conventional means.

…_Sheesh…who knows what is out there waiting for me…could be the firing squad._

Scion came out of the cockpit reluctantly to see a number of mechanics, or so they looked to be, and other personal. He hopped down and went to see about the person with the microphone who turned out to be a man in a suit. He quickly said he was to busy to talk and left Scion in the middle of a mob of foreign people.

"Some help you are. Bum.." Scion said hoarsely as he rubbed his throat slowly. He shook his head as he got a sudden dizzy spell, probably from the bleeding.

"Hello, Scion Kazuma."

Scion spun around on hearing a familiar voice and to his extreme surprise he found Yumi Akechi standing in front of him. She was dressed in her normal attire with her hair pulled back in a bun. She held a clipboard with some papers on it as she stood staring at Scion.

To bad for Scion it was to much for him, he had all but assumed everyone was dead and this new revelation was to much for his battered mind and body to take. With some gratitude that not everyone died Scion collapsed to the floor in front of Yumi who's reaction was to catch him.

"Scion? Scion what's wrong?" She shook Scion a little to have no response in return.

"Someone come help me!"

A few workers were already on the way and helped Yumi lay Scion on the ground, a closer inspection showed where Scion had been shot and bleeding for nearly a day, he survived thanks to his Coordinator genes and the fact his pilot suit helped the blood clot.

"Get him to the infirmary ASAP!" Yumi yelled at the men around her, frantic to save the pilot of Doctor Takashi's grand war machine.

"Yes ma'am!" They responded as they ran to get a stretcher. They soon returned with one to see Yumi not left his side since. They then loaded the wounded pilot on the stretcher and hurried him to the Haven's doctor.

**Infirmary, 2: 15 P.M.**

Yumi sat in the waiting area just outside the actual placing of patients. She guessed Scion had carried that wound for at least twenty-four hours since it could only have happened before the battle over the destroyed research base, it was all over the news as a accidental explosion.

Yumi had taken a hard blow when she found out that the Doctor was dead, she thought that she was sent away to set up for the movement of the mobile suit, since the spy attacked her and Sion, but she didn't think she was being moved for that purpose as well as for her own safety. Though she had reason to believe there were other reasons for her moving away from Takashi.

_The stupid fool. Why didn't he fix up his wound or tell someone. They would have done better then just covering it up. What is it with younger men doing the stupidest things. He better learn to accept help from people because we can't afford to lose him…I can't afford to lose him._ _I need him alive..._

She sighed mentally, she had grown attached to the younger man over the past months, though it went against her better judgment. At the time of his arrival the only thing that stood out was his eyes which were a pale, almost sickly, red. Those eyes looked like some great pain was inside him and was just bleeding inside of him. She found out that she was very much correct when she was asked to do a background check, finding that he was half Natural and Coordinator and that he protected the mobile armor carrier that carried the weapons that would destroy Junius Seven.

_How does someone get over knowing that they helped kill hundreds of thousands of people? How does he get up in the morning and fight as hard as he does when he sent so many innocents to death? He must have a cold heart...a solid heart of ice.  
_

Those were her original thoughts about him, a broken tool and/or a cold blooded murder, and it was her pity that forced her to talk to him when he spoke to her. Because of that she found out more about him then she wanted and she found herself looking more into his life and his actions.

In the months of them being in the same working space she found herself being scared by things he would do. Often when he was in the mobile suit going through a test run he would stop and go into a involuntary fit of silence, the camera would show him shaking, his hands gripping the controls for dear life. It would last for only a moment before he would return to the present and if asked about it later he would deny that it happened or play dumb, he was in denial, trying to make himself believe that it wasn't his fault but somehow he still tormented himself.

Then came his own abilities. He did so well that people would often congratulate him on an excellent performance. That in itself would send him from the room. He would just up and leave. Yumi assumed that he felt that the people were telling him that he was a good killer. Though like everything about him Scion simply denied it and made up an excuse.

He was a horrible liar as well.

Yumi looked at the door to see nothing from behind the window near the top of the door. She sighed and stood up and began pacing. Scion Kazuma was a broken tool, but it was the only tool able to use the Gundam to any extent and with Takashi gone she would have to tend to his mending. She would have to make sure that he holds together long enough until the good Doctors goal was reached.

"Ms. Akechi." The door opened and a nurse came out, she looked about before seeing Yumi and walking over to her.

"Yes? Is he going to be okay?"

"He'll be fine, not sure how he survived this long but he did and he will make a full recovery in a day or so."

_**-Breath of relief- **_"I'm glad to hear that. Can I see him?"

"…Well…no."

"Why not?"

"He's sleeping, has been for a while now and seems to be in quite a fit. We've drugged him up pretty bad since the bullet was in pretty deep because it wasn't removed until now. Due to the drugs we can't pull him out of his dream and I doubt you'd want to see him at this point."

Yumi stood silently for a while. Did she want to see him? She was wary of becoming more attached to him for fear or it interfering with work. She needed to be able to keep everything profressional, she had an agenda to follow afterall.

So she resigned herself to seeing him later, as soon as she possibly could. She would show she cared for him but she wouldn't sit by him all night and make him think there was going to be anything between them. She couldn't allow such a relationship to exist…for reasons that she would not betray.

**July 1, C.E. 70**

**Infirmary, 11:00 A.M.**

Scion lost track of how long he had been sleeping, he slipped in and out of his dreams and his realities...though he didn't know which one was the better of the two. He just knew that he was happier awake then asleep. In his sleep he relived every battle and every event of his life. Starting with his mother and her loss of pride in him after the Coordinators came. She meant well and just wanted to push Scion to do well but not that Scion looked at it…she pushed him well over the edge

After that he went to his school years and how sad and petty he acted. He hated them out of envy and spite just because they did things better then he did. His school years led him to the military and he knew how that would end. He would excel and rise to the very top of the class only to fall to the very bottom, to the bottom of himself and the bottom of human morality.

That fall lead him to be picked up by Doctor Takashi who gave him wings to try and rise again. With the mobile suit and what it was being used for he thought he could rebuild himself. Before that he went through a period of changes, or more to the point a period of understanding. This time of dismantling the truth from the false allowed him to be rebuilt as he was and should be.

Then Axle came and brought Scion to the top again, his best friend was with him and he was mastering the new machine that would be used for peace. And in that moment he realized he was not built different, he was still the same spiteful person. He just hid it behind veils of goodwill and attempts to make good on himself.

It was here where Scion would go into a violent fit and began sweating profusely. The images of him and Axle staring each other down as the pointed their guns at each other. The doctors would try and hold him down as he thrashed about until his dream reached the point of the guns firing.

Scion would go quiet then, his dream following him into Revolution and his trance like state where he almost destroyed a fleet.

In his wake he realized that it was over but then a new feeling of fear for what was to come would slam into his mind and then he would beg for sleep to take him back to what had allready been said and done. For the past and the things that he could not change, for the absolute.

This all took place in a two days time. After which Scion's eyes snapped open and he sprung up into a sitting position and examined his soundings. A infirmary of some kind or so it seemed. He heard the sound of a few bustling figures beyond a curtain surrounding him. A figure stopped and look at him through the curtain before pulling it back and looking at Scion in an astonished way, she wondered how he could be up so quickly judging from how much blood he had lost. It just didn't make sense.

No one beside Yumi knew what Scion was and so the nurse walked over to him slowly. She was unsure of his condition.

"Hello Mr. Kazuma. How are you feeling?" She said as softly and politely as she could.

Scion opened his mouth to speak but found his throat very dry and he just couldn't talk. He made a drinking gesture and the nurse quickly nodded and ran off to get something to drink. She returned with some water and handed it to Scion who quickly drank the glass and finding it unbelievably tasty and refreshing.

"Tha-thank you."

"Oh no! It was my pleasure. I'm just surprised you are up at all. You lost a terrible amount of blood."

"I did? Hmmmm." It then dawned on him that he had never properly treated the gunshot wound that he had gotten from Axle himself. His hand went to where the wound was and saw that he was currently shirtless and was wrapped up, his chest anyway, pretty well. He still felt stiff but he wasn't hurting.

"Do you see?" The nurse decided to get him back into the conversation. She appeared the peppy talkative type.

"Yes, I do. How long have I been here?"

"Ohh…a few days I suppose. No one here really knows when you got here or even why you are here or what you do."

"I guess I shouldn't tell you then. Sorry."

"Oh, that's okay. I kinda like the mystery anyway. **_-Giggle-_**" She then bowed and left him to his business, or his boredom.

_Well…that was interesting._

Scion always thought it strange how people just zipped in and out of conversation like she just did. He shook his head and laid back down. He put his arms over his eyes and tried to get some sleep before yet another voice came to his hearing.

"Hello, Scion."

Scion didn't need to move his arms to know who it was. It was definitely Yumi, he had talked to her enough to know that it was her.

"Hello to you too, Yumi. I thought you were dead."

"I could say the same to you."

_**-Grunt- **_"Fair enough. What is this place and what is the current purpose of this facility?"

"To prep the Gundam for final launch. We've decided on it's name too."

"Already done."

"It is? Doc named it?"

"No. I did."

"You weren't allowed."

"Everyone was dead in my mind. It's name is Revolution. I've already put it into the Gundam's central computer processor. It can't be changed."

Yumi was a bit angry at the way Scion was acting. He would normally be very nice to her and try to get brownie points for being a gentlemen. Today he was cold and cutting to the meat of things. She didn't know why it was bugging her but it did. Maybe it was the fact that she was trying to be nice to him while trying to be formal as well. It must have been that that irked her.

"…Fine. Revolution is as good a name as any."

"When do we launch?"

"Soon. Very soon."

Yumi was very uncomfortable now. He seemed so cold now, a distant figure compared to the rather social able person he once was or at least tried to be. It was unnerving to say the least.

"Good." Scion stood and began looking for his shirt, he assumed they had gotten rid of it since the blood couldn't be cleaned out.

" I don't think you should be up…" Yumi's voice came weak and she found herself blushing and looking at the ground. Military training and strain from using Revolution had gave him a toned figure though he was a slightly pale from being inside the cockpit of a mobile suit too long and not spending enough time outside.

"I'm ready to go now. I need to get to the PLANTS as soon as possible."

"What for?"

"It doesn't matter and it will be safer if you didn't know."

"….."

Yumi nodded and left after telling Scion that she hoped he got better very soon. Truthfully she was scared of what she saw before her. The broken tool that didn't know he was broken had finally snapped in two. His cold look and 'get to the point' way of talking chilled her to the bone. She found herself anger at herself for letting this happen...and then she was surprised she was so concerned.

**Haven Hallways, 1:00 P.M.**

Scion walked down the halls with gusto. He looked normal except for the bandanna, the material being the same stuff they used to wrap his chest to stop the bleeding, around his head and behind his bangs that now covered his entire face since he lost interest with keeping it tidy and now hide both of his eyes. The Bandanna was a reminder of the hole in his gut and where it came from and why it was there. On the white accessory was written 'Redemption' for that is what he wanted. To redeem himself for all the people he had sent to their grave.

His mission was Revolution and to gain Redemption for his acts, involuntary and voluntary. He walked with his head held high, showing off the bandanna though it was hidden behind his hair. He would not hide from his mistakes.

The mobile suit was done being prepped and they had a way to get to the PLANTS. This place had a ship that, a stolen salvaging ship, that could get into the PLANTS. They wouldn't search a salvage ship for anything since they're better ways to get into the colonies that are cleaner. This way allows for a mobile suit to be carried onboard. It was already in space gathering some junk for looks.

**Haven Hangar Bay, 1:20 P.M.**

Scion walked towards the only mobile suit in the hangar. His mobile suit. It was equipped with a number of strong rockets to propel it into space where it would be intercepted by the carrier that would transport it to the PLANTS.

He would be launching as soon as he was ready to go.

The five minutes went by very quickly and soon Scion was strapped into his machine and he was getting ready to be thrust into deep space. Yumi would not be joining him.

"Are you ready Scion?" Came Yumi's voice over the com.

"Yeah. Ready to go anytime." Came Scion's rather dull voice.

_**-Sigh- **_"….Okay then. Prepare to launch." He had grown so cold all of a sudden and it still irked her but she said nothing as the numbers counted down and after confirming his launch she watched him rise up into the sky and put her hand up over her eyes as the power attached rockets ignited and blasted him through the atmosphere and into deep space….

Then she realized she had forgotten to wish him good luck...and then she realized she had never wished him good luck. It hurt her to realize that she was just as cold to him then as he was to her now.

As Scion saw the bright blue sky fade into a dark star colored void he wondered where this path would take him. He wondered if this path would lead him to his redeeming and to the Doc's revolution. Where would his path lead him, on his way into this vast expanse known as space…

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Okay. So the first solid chapter in this story and is like a kind of slowing down of things after the last chapter. You start to see some changes with Scion and perhaps a bit more in Yumi's mind. Some things will become more obvious between the two as the story goes on. 

I'm still a few months away from the original Gundam SEED story and haven't really thought of how Scion will affect that world, if he does at all. Any opinions on this are thanked in advance.

I hope you enjoy this chapter and will come back for the next. Sorry this one took so long too.


	9. The Princess

-1**Chapter 5: The Princess**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

**July 3, C.E. 70**

**The Cargo Carrier, 2:00 P.M**

To Scion's dismay he found out that the PLANT's were blocking any incoming ships except their own. A recent attack by Blue Cosmos had put them on edge, There was no telling how long it would last and him and the crew decided that an attack on the PLANT's would be bad without a contact on the inside.

As such they decided to take an in-depth look at the EA's new mobile suits. The booklet that the Doc left for Scion had a few pages on the mobile suits but they were about the early development stages and would not be accurate to the completed models.

As such the carrier had re-entered the atmosphere just two days after Scion was launched into space. They were going to contact a women in Orb who was willing to lend information. Her name was unknown but how to contact her was there.

It was a simple matter finding an empty apartment and leaving a note that would be picked up later. It was simple enough.

"Hey, Scion! We are almost there. We are going to park soon." One of the Tech's said loudly.

"Right. I'm ready to go as soon as we get to the ground."

Scion still hadn't come out of his slump but had learned to like the crew of this ship and was surprised to see that a few of them were Coordinators. He liked the new change in reality. It was neat to have a couple Coordinator buddies now that he was over his jealously.

**On the ground, 4:00 P.M.**

Traffic was murder and they had to go through a number of checks that didn't involve a search. They were relived at this and they soon landed outside of MORGENROETE INC. There was a dorm near by that he needed to get to.

"I'm going." Scion said as he put on his civilian clothes.

"Okay, good luck."

"Thanks."

As Scion exited the cargo ship everyone on board looked at one another.

"What a depressing guy." One of the few females said.

"Yeah. He acts like the world is ending or if he's got the worlds worst hangover."

They sighed together and went to work or lounging around.

**Outside of MORGENROETE INC., 4:15 P.M.**

Scion had his hands stuffed into his pockets as he walked around looking for the said address. The booklet tightly in his hand. He should be getting close by now. A lot of people went in and out of this place and beyond a wire fence one could see the large corporation building.

His clothing was simple enough, yellow mountain boots and loose fitting blue jeans that were a bit to long for him. He wore a plain white tee-shirt under a unbuttoned blue plaid shirt. He also wore the bandanna around his head for a personal reminder to him of his greatest loss and his greatest goal. He did fix his hair today and had it in his past style of covering one eye but the gel he used didn't hold and soon both of his eyes were covered and he was constantly moving his hair out of the way to see without seeing things that weren't there.

_Shouldn't be to far now….to bad I don't know who the hell I am meeting, heck I might not meet the person but like an aid or something. I'll just have to trust Doc I guess._

He reached behind him and felt the gun that Doc gave him, it was hidden behind his plaid shirt, and felt a little more at ease. It saved him once then took his best friend away so it was back to saving his life or so he hoped.

He stopped and looked up at the large building in front of him, it was a night barracks for the people that worked during the day and slept at night. Next to that was the day barracks which was for the night working employee's. He rechecked the room number and made his way to the buildings elevator.

_**-BING-**_

The elevator opened and people began to stream out, mostly to go to work since it was nearing 5:00 P.M. and Scion assumed that must be the time of the guard shift and so on. After they had all left the building Scion occupied the elevator.

As the elevator rose Scion tried to clear his head. Ever since his waking in the infirmary he had been able to do little more then think about how he was to accomplish everything that had been put in front of him. He needed to somehow get a direction in this crazy thing he is trying to accomplish. He needed a northern star to guide him.

_**-BING-**_

Scion looked up to see that he had reached his floor, the third. He stepped out into the hallway of the barracks to see all the doors that lined the walk way. He observed the number to figure out the order of the numbers and then began looking for his destination.

_147B……148B….149B….150B…..151B…..ah here it is. 152B_

Scion looked about quickly to see if anyone was around, no one was. He then checked his gun quickly before trying the knob, it was locked of course. It had a number pad above the knob and Scion rummaged through the booklet to find the number that he remembered seeing inside.

_734-562-113_

-DING-

A green light came on and the unlocking of the door could be heard. Scion slowly turned the knob and stepped inside. He found the room to have the barest of accommodations. A living room and what appeared to be a kitchen with a bathroom on the opposite side of the apartment.

Scion searched through the apartment to see if anyone was present. He thought it strange that this place didn't have a bed room. It didn't have any furniture for that matter besides the single cough and a large coffee table with one chair nearby.

_Well…I must be in the right place seeing how this place doesn't have a bed room. No one lives here for sure._

Scion went around the couch examining it cautiously, another side effect of Axle's attack, before popping unto it. He looked around and noticed a small slip of paper on the table, the room had no lamps and the windows blindsvwere not open so light barely made it into the room. Scion reached for the paper and it simply stated a time, 6:00 P.M.

_I guess someone comes here at six everyday. That would explain the note. Hopefully they don't forget to come by..._

_**-Heavy Sigh- **_Scion yawned and laid back on the couch staring at the ceiling. He had roughly two hours to kill before his contact came. If this contact was smart though he or she would send someone else to see him. But then again he wouldn't know if the person to see him was an aid or not. He'd just have to hope he'd get the information he needed and hope the Doc's trust was well put.

_**Barracks Apartment, 5:55 P.M.**_

Scion had tried to get some sleep but found himself on edge. Even in Orb he doubted he would be accepted and if they were helping the EA then Orb would hand him right over which meant he couldn't be caught off guard.

_**-Ding-**_

_**-Click-**_

The sound of the alarm disarming and the click of the locks disengaging shot Scion into full awareness mode. He was totally on edge now. The door opened and a women stepped inside the apartment and shut the door behind her.

The lady walked calmly towards Scion with a folder at her side. Scion was now really aware of how dark it was in here. Scion made sure his gun was at his side as she walked towards him. She seemed too calm to Scion.

The lady took the seat in front of the table and set the folder down on the table. She then crossed her legs and looked at Scion.

"Scion Kazuma, pilot the new war machine created by Doctor Takashi. I am here to offer you information and that is all at this point. State what you would like to know of and be quick about it."

_Damn…cutting to the meat of things. Must be dangerous to meet me or something._

"The prototype mobile suits. I want to know about them and where they are."

The lady picked up the folder and slide some papers over to Scion. He couldn't see them but he picked them up anyway.

"You can keep those. They are information on the five prototype machines. I will tell a little about them all but we don't know much since we only helped in the initial blue prints and we don't know what has been added."

Scion nodded and folded the papers and stuck them into his shirt pocket. He then turned and looked at the lady to begin.

"GAT-X103 Buster is a specialized mobile suit for medium to long range combat. It's main function is to provide support to the other four machines as needed. It's main weapons are a energy cannon and a gun launcher. Exactly what type those will be is unknown and it's other systems are also unknown."

"I understand. Go on."

"GAT-X102 Dual is a generic mobile suit used as a model for the others. It was first created and is meant for medium to close combat and is least equipped of the group, carrying only two beam saber and a ream rifle. It will probably have a shield with anti-beam coating but we don't know for sure."

Scion nodded and leaned back against the couch with his arms crossed. So far the information was useful.

"GAT-X105 Strike is the most adaptable of the suits. This one was noted to be an upgraded Buster, Dual, and have great aerial abilities. How they plan to do this is unknown. We simply know that it was designed to adapt to the battle conditions as they changed."

_How could a mobile suit adapt that much? It would have to have a lot of optional parts or something, sounds annoying._

"GAT-X207 Blitz. This mobile suit was meant to carry a number of special weapons and systems but it was the second most hidden mobile suit of the group, the first being the Aegis, and we know next to nothing about it, we only know that it was for stealth missions. The GAT-X303 Aegis was made to be the commanding unit of the five and we know nothing else."

"I see…well looks like the EA is very busy." Scion said as he leaned forward and put the information I order in his mind.

"It would appear that way. Orb would also appear that way though wouldn't it?"

"You could say that…if you want."

The lady laughed. Scion thought it was strange how she was talking about her own faction was weird. Maybe she didn't like their involvement which would explain why she was here.

"Well I believe that is everything you asked for, oh wait you asked where the mobile suits are. I believe they have been moved to Heliopolis for final construction. If that's all then you should excuse yourself."

"…I'm going. I'm going."

Scion stood up and bowed his head before making for the door. When he reached the door he was called back by the women.

"What is it ma'am?"

"Well you do know that to cover up this exchange we need a…posse…" The women stood and put a hand on her hips, Scion could make that much out.

"What? What are you saying?"

"You have five minutes before I raise the alarm that will have this facility on alert. I won't say anything about the mobile suit I'll just say that a man stole those papers you have with you now. Better get going"

"The hell?"

Scion wasn't a fool though and he wasn't going to stare at the lady like some people would have. He knew he didn't have time to see if she was bluffing. He almost tore the door of it's hinges and quickly walked towards the elevator…

On the way down Scion cursed his luck.

**The streets outside MORGENROETE INC., 6:30 P.M.**

Scion was jogging quickly through the number of people, so far no alarm but he had only left the place two minutes ago. Scion turned into an alley and pulled out his cell phone as he made his way down the narrow path.

_Pick up…pick up damn it!_

"Hello?"

"It's Scion. Look I need you to ditch Revolution in the garbage dump and get your ship out of here. I don't have time to explain just do it so no one will notice it. I have to lay low for a while. Now go!"

"What!"

"I said I don't have time! I gave an order now do it!"

"But…but…ARGH! Okay, we'll send a signal to the GPS on your phone so you can find it. You better not be messing around with us."

"You do that. Scion out." He ended the call and stuffed the phone into his pocket. He came out of the alley and went down another road.

_**-BIIING-**_

A large vid screen came on and showed a announcement to the whole community. Scion cursed.

**This is a general announcement to all employee's on and off duty. A young man has been reported to us by a local source. He has stolen top secret documents and must be apprehended. We have no visuals at this point and we ask that everyone report any strange characters. Thank you for your coo operation.**

_Ah hell. That's just great…_

Scion stopped and watched with everyone else to avoid being detected as the one they were looking for. After the announcement he went off in a direction with a few others who were talking about the stolen documents. Seemed that most of the people here worked on those machines and they were sure as hell pissed.

"Hey you! You with the plaid shirt! You aren't in uniform! Who are you!"

_Damn it.._

Scion took off without finding if he was in danger or not. He just ran and ran through people and through traffic until he could run no more and turned into another alley. He thanked his father for being a Coordinator and giving him more strength then a Natural.

"You are the contact aren't you? From Doctor Takashi?" A younger women's voice came.

Scion turned quickly and pulled out the gun from behind him and pointed at the women. Scion's serious expression dropped when he saw it was a young girl about his age, though probably younger. She had blonde hair that barely reached her shoulder and was dressed in the attire of the other mechanics, she also had some scary golden colored eyes and was glaring right at him and he was the one with the gun!

"What do you think you are doing? Put that gun away before you attract attention…Moron." She barked at him. She was either really stupid or really brave…or both.

Scion blinked about six times, to dumbstruck to do anything else.

_Doesn't she know that I could kill her? What is wrong with her!_

Nevertheless Scion put the gun away and then decided to take command.

" Who the hell are you! You don't yell at someone with a gun!"

The girl's face seemed to take on more attitude and she walked up to him and got in his face.

"Don't tell me what to do! You were the one pointing the gun at someone who wasn't going to hurt you!"

Scion staggered back from her attack. Who this girl was kept running through his mind. Scion coughed, trying to feign his defeat and spoke more calmly. He obviously wasn't going to scare her anytime soon.

"Fine…just tell me who are you."

"We can't talk here. To many people. Follow me." She turned and started walking down the alley. Scion didn't know whether to follow her or not. He found himself a bit intimidated by this young women. Scion just stood there stiff as a board.

"Come on! Do you want my help or not? Hurry up." The girl commanded and this time Scion jumped and followed behind her.

**Unknown Area, 7: 10 P.M.**

Scion began to doubt the girl knew where she was going. They were on the outskirts of town and heading further away from it to a building in the distance. As they got closer Scion saw that it was a nice house and he wondered if the girl worked for someone that wanted to see him. It would make sense but the way this girl talked you would think she lived there!

They didn't go to the front door though, oh no, they climbed up a vine on the side of the house and went through a window into a girls room. A very expensive looking girls room. It was a single room with fancy mirrors and so on. No bathroom it appeared and Scion would have thought there would be one. It must be a vacation home.

Scion hadn't spoken the entire time though the girl spoke even less, if that was possible. She seemed to be steamed about their meeting. She looked around and then shoved Scion into a corner.

_Great…as if I'm not confused enough._

"Look and I'll kill you." Another threat from the scary blonde. She made sure he was as close to the corner as he could before turning around.

Their was the sound of drawers being pulled out and pushed in. The ruffling of clothes could also be heard. Scion thought he would have been tempted to look but his fear of this women and he wrath upon his head seemed to have killed and thoughts like that before he could process them. A women that doesn't fear a gun is a women you don't want to mess with.

"You can turn around now. It's nice to see you aren't a pervert."

_Where does she get off being so damn rude? Sheesh._

Scion turned around and was again surprised, he was being surprised to many times today for his own liking. The girl was dressed in a dark blue dress that went to her ankles, around her neck she had a simple pearl necklace. Her hair was done up in some fashion that Scion didn't quite know how to escribe either.

_Okay…so she's rich…would have been nice to know earlier._

"Okay, okay hold up. Who are you?"

The girl crossed her arm and gave a nasty stare.

"You should give your name first you know? I am Cagalli."

If Scion had been drinking something at the time he would have spit it all over the floor. He couldn't believe what he just heard.

"Cagalli? Cagalli Yula Athha! Are you serious?"

"Are you calling me a lair! Yes, that's who I am! Who are you and how do you know Doctor Takashi?"

Scion didn't doubt it was her but he did doubt how much information he could give her. She wasn't one of the contacts listed so he decided to play it safe. Besides, why would she be so interested? And why did she seem so angry about the information as well? Like she had some vendetta against Scion or the Doctor.

"I'm Scion Kazuma and I worked for Doctor Takashi. Did you know what he did?"

"Weapons development. He never told exactly what he was making though." Cagalli sat on the bed and pointed, commandingly, to the chair off a little to the right. Scion took it without arguing.

"Scion huh? That's a odd name. Does it mean anything?"

"Huh? Oh,…I don't know. Never thought about it. Why is that important?"

"It's not I just thought it had some meaning to it."

"I don't know. It coul….whoa whoa whoa. Why are we talking about this! Why am I here?"

The girl gave another look on her face that meant Scion shouldn't have gotten so defensive.

"I just want to know why Doctor Takashi died and why he stopped listening to the Orb council. He was reported dead when his facility exploded do to a large system malfunction but I don't believe it. Doctor Takashi was to careful for that kind of thing." She said bitterly, "He was always so paranoid."

_So that's what they are saying happened…._

"It's a bit more complicated then that I'm afraid."

"I know it is and I'm going to find out why too and you are going to tell me."

"I was away from the site. I don't know what happened but I can imagine that it was some kind of outside force."

Cagalli didn't seem very happy with that answer but before she could speak there was a knock at her door.

"Cagalli! Are you ready for the gathering? Come down stairs quickly and I hope your date is here!" Said a women, probably a maid, through the door. Her steps could he heard trailing off into the distance.

"Oh shoot! I forgot…" Cagalli sprung from the bed to her feet and began fixing her hair, decided she hated it and put in into a more simpler form, a tight bun.

"Forgot what?" Scion asked as he stood up and started to think that this was a sign that he should show himself out.

"A gathering of the council members. I haven't been to any of them all year and my father made me promise to go to this one and…oh no!" She stopped what she was doing and spun around and stared at Scion. To Scion's intense fear, he had a feeling that he was about to be pressganged into something.

"Wh-why are you looking at me like that?" The now timid Gundam pilot said.

"I was supposed to get a date. My father said I could pick someone but…" She began to eyeball Scion with a more piercing look. Scion shook his hands in front of his face.

"Oh no! You don't mean me do you! I don't have anything to wear and I don't know how to act at these places!"

Cagalli had other idea's though.

"You will be fine. I can get you a suit. You just need to stay close to me and you'll be fine. Just be polite, you do know how to do that don't you?" Without giving Scion a chance to answer she grabbed him by the hands and dragged him to the door where she flung open the door and called out to a butler nearby.

"Yes, Miss Cagalli?"

"My date needs a suit. The tailor couldn't get it done in time, can you find him something?" She pushed Scion forward who had a dumb look on his face, a face of confusion and desperation. The butler looked Scion over and obviously didn't like Scion's hair but would never say anything.

"Of course ma'am, I will find something right away." Then he dragged Scion off in another direction.

_Argh! What is it with this place! Why can't I walk myself!_

Scion's complaints didn't change his circumstances and he was soon shoved into a room and had a suit thrown at him.

"Please put that on and for gods sake fix your hair or get it cut. You look like a dog that had been brought in from the streets." The Butler advised before leaving Scion to change.

Scion gave a menacing glance at the man before he left the room. Scion looked at the suit and with a heavy sigh put it on after removing his other clothes. He put the bandanna into the inside pocket and fixed his hair to the right so only one eye was covered, his mom always said he looked handsome and mysterious that way.

After a few minutes another man came and dragged him into another room…Scion was getting tired of being dragged about.

**Adjoining Ball room, 8:30 P.M.**

The door was opened and he was pushed into a small room where Cagalli and an older man were talking, her father obviously. She seemed to be telling him about someone and to be nice or something. He couldn't quite figure it out.

_So that's Lord Uzumi, one of the leaders of Orb Union…Looks scary enough._

Cagalli then turned her head and saw Scion. She said something to her father who looked Scion's way with a judging look. Scion walked slowly over to them as if he was on death row, he thought he looked okay but he was never around the upper class like he was now. It was just two people and he felt so filthy, like he was a dog dragged in.

"Father, this is Scion Kazuma." Cagalli grabbed Scion's hand and pulled him to her father when she thought he was taking to long.

"Yes, I see. Well, hello Scion." He extended his hand for a handshake.

"Hello to you too sir, it's an honor to meet you." Scion took the Lords hand and shook it firmly.

The man simply nodded and then bade a farewell and to have a good time. After which Cagalli turned and gave Scion a good looking over.

"Who knew you would clean up so well. You look good in a suit and your hair is nice and…uh"

"What? What's wrong?"

"Your eyes, what's up with your eyes?"

"Oh that…it's a discoloration. Something with eye pigments being messed up."

"Oh well they look pretty unique. Anyway, just stay close to me, they'll make an announcement and you and we walk down some steps. Just walk down the steps and greet people as they come."

"Sure…easy.." Scion said with a mocking tone. He didn't look like a nicely brought up person.

A few seconds later Cagalli's and Scion's name was announced. Cagalli looked at Scion who with a heavy sigh offered his arm to Cagalli, she took his arm and began to walk him out of the room to the large stair case and descended into a large ball room.

Everyone turned to look at the odd couple. Scion with his long hair covering one of his eyes was a stark contrast to Cagalli's neatly done hair. Scion also looked like he had been in a few rough spots as of late and looked tired compared to Cagalli's radiant looking figure.

As Scion and Cagalli descended the stairs he noticed he was getting a lot of looks, mostly from the younger males of the group who seemed to want to put a bullet in his head. Scion assumed that Cagalli's favor was something they wanted.

After saying hello and introducing himself to about eight different couples and a few people who came alone, after which Cagalli and Scion escaped to the northern wall next to the stairs and stood together as some of the people ate and chatted softly.

"Nice enough group, they assume to much though…" Scion had been mistaken for a singer in a band that Scion had never heard of and his lack of caring showed in his inability to remember the name of the group.

"They all care about Orb's dealings though. Except recently I've been getting the feeling that something is amiss."

Scion looked at Cagalli as she stared at the people in the ballroom. He assumed she would know about what was going on but now he was thinking otherwise. He didn't suppose it was his place to tell her either.

"So…I think we should talk about what you did for Doctor Takashi."

"I---" Scion was cut off by the beginning of music and he noticed instantly the turning of heads, the young men again. They were looking at Cagalli and before he what was happening Cagalli had his hand and he found himself again be dragged across the room.

_Okay...this dragging thing is seriously getting old..._

"Dance with me, hurry!" She commanded softly.

"What?"

"I don't want to dance with those jerk-ish boys. Come on, hurry."

"But! I.."

Scion was dragged off into the middle of the dance floor and could only comply as his hand were placed on Cagalli's hips, her went around his neck. Scion again felt that feeling fear for doing anything that would be seen as perverted. Luckly, his hair cast a thin shadow over his face and kept any blush from appearing.

"What is wrong with dancing with them?" Scion said as he began slowly dancing in circles in accordance with everyone else and to Cagalli's wishes.

"Those boys only care about getting to my father through me. I don't want to be around jerks like those so shut up and dance."

_Geez, back to the scary girl in the alley._

"So…what did you do for the Doctor?" Cagalli asked quietly as they danced.

"I helped test his project, that's all. You don't need to know more then that."

"What do you know about the EA and Orb working together?"

"I don't know anything about that…I'm just a worker. I don't think the EA and Orb would work together anyway…"

"That's why you came here and stole those documents then? Cause you don't know? Give me a break."

Scion grunted as the music went on and they span around the room slowly. He didn't know what he could tell her to make her believe him, besides the truth. And that wasn't a real option was it? Could he afford to divulge that much information? For all he knew this girl could just be using him to get information and then interfere with his plans. He decided that it was far too risky.

"..I've just heard rumors. Probably no more then you. Why do you want to know anyway?"

"Cause, I don't like fighting and I don't want Orb to get involved."

"Heh, you and everyone else that didn't lose anything from this war think that way."

"What was that!" Cagalli gave him a nasty glare that caused Scion to lose his cool facial expression. He looked off in another direction to avoid eye contact while Cagalli stared over Scion's left shoulder.

"I want to know why my father and so many others are working so hard as of late. They always worked hard before but now….we have less meetings and I see my father less and less."

_Lord Izumi….I don't think he knows what's going on. If I remember right this is something going on outside of the councils control…At the very most only a few members would be invovled. Since the G-weapons are on Heliopolis then Mongenroete must be invovled as well..._

_**-BANG-**_

The door to the ballroom was kicked forward and several men armed with guns came into the room. They told everyone to get against the walls. They didn't appear to belong to any faction. Scion and Cagalli quickly went to the far wall as they were directed.

"We have reason to believe that someone has something of value to us! We are going to search every person here and as long as no one does anything stupid then nothing will happen. We apologize to all council members but this is a matter of national security!"

_Oh great… I bet these are hired hands to get the documents from me. I can't let them have them…got to get out._

Scion began looking around and found a number of windows he could use and he planned to as soon as he got a chance. The men began checking a few people while the rest kept their guns trained.

"Cagalli…hold unto this." Scion slipped Cagalli his cell phone.

"Why are you giving me this?"

"Incase I need to contact you is why…you had better keep it if you want information."

"Why are you changing your mind now."

"I have my reasons, so shut up before I change my mind." And he did, an ally like Cagalli who was so close to the council could be useful for information.

Scion didn't say anything more before he pushed Cagalli and the person the other side of him down, causing everyone around him to fall over like domino's. He then pulled his gun from inside his suit and shot one man before throwing himself backwards out a window. Luck was on Scion's side because the ball room was only a seven foot drop, which was nothing to him, and he was able to roll to his feet and dash around the corner of the building just dodging the incoming bullets that began streaming at him as the men tried to down him.

_Okay…now I have to get to Revolution. Good thing I put the location of the GPS signal to memory._

The Gundam was in the nearest pile to the northern entrance and would be laying down on it's back for easy access. Scion had only to make it there in one piece. Running around the next corner Scion then made into the nearby woods and went the long way to the city to avoid running into more patrols.

**The Dump, 11:00 P.M.**

Luck was on Scion's side this time and he arrived at the dump with no interruptions or close calls. He then climbed up unto the pile almost right at the entrance and it didn't take long to tell what was trash and what was a machine. Once he threw all the garbage away from the cockpit, which smelled like something foul, Scion jumped in and activated Revolution.

To cover his escape Scion set a flame the dumpster area to make a smoke cover, at least from the naked eye, and took off to the known place where he would meet his crew that was set up incase they had something like this happen.

--------------------------

**Author's Notes: **So this is one of the longest chapters and for those of you wanted more action rest assured there will be lots more in the coming chapters as the story draws closer to the SEED story line and in the actual plot of the show.

And thanks to (Put dude's name here) for his review with all the options, thanks to (other dude) as well for his opinion, and I have thought of it and have chosen what I may decide to change and what things I may alter. You will have to wait and see what changes, big and small, will be made.'

This chapter is a bit laid back and slow on the action, having some humor and some setting up for some things in the future. I can assure you that the next chapter will have a lot of action and I will get on it right away.

-Arc.


	10. War of Broken Hearts I

**Chapter 6: War of Broken Hearts**

**Part 1**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

**_Disclaimer: _**I don't own "Burning Bright" by Shinedown in anyway.

**September 23, C.E. 70**

**Entering the Atmosphere, 3:30 P.M.**

The ship rose higher and higher into the air as they began to enter the atmosphere to get into neutral air space. For the past weeks the crew had been lying low since the break away from Orb. They ended up grounded near Orb for one entire week due to so many patrols roaming through the air searching for them. They decided that now was the time to try to get into the PLANT's if they could and at this point Scion was willing to attempt running the blockade. He felt they weren't getting enough down but the man assured him that gaining information was important.

Yumi had contacted the group and told them that they were building a war vessel that would launch sometime after the new year and they would meet up with them. The ship would launch with when the EA completed their machines and Scion's would seem like one of theirs and would then go about the bulk of it's actions against both ZAFT and the EA.

Scion lay in his bunk looking at the ceiling. He had been inside for too long and had only gone into the cockpit to change it's OS from ground conditions to space conditions, he had the two settings saved to disks.

_**-RIIIIING-**_

Scion sat up and looked at the monitor at his desk. He walks over to it, and could almost glide but gravity still held, and clicked it on to see the face of the Co-pilot of the ship appear.

"What is it? Are we out of the atmosphere already?" Scion said through a yawn.

"No, not yet…but you should come to the bridge and look at this."

"Huh? What is it?"

"You should come look since we aren't close enough to tell yet."

Scion paused for a minute before nodding.

"Right, I'll be right there."

Scion clicked the monitor off and walked to the door and began jogging to the ship's bridge.

**The Bridge, 3:45 P.M.**

The door slid opened and Scion ran into the area where the pilot and the other helping hands were. He didn't need to ask what it was he was called up for since it was right in front of him.

"Whoa…"

Some distance ahead explosions could be seen randomly appearing and dying down in amazing numbers. The different colors of beams could be seen coming off of the warships of the two forces. It was a battle between a EA fleet and a ZAFT force.

"How far are they?" Scion asked as he jumped over to the navigator, gravity had become null and he got that feeling of sickness that some do from the change.

"Not to far now, we were slowed by gravity's pull but we should reach them soon if we keep going. We're turning soon though."

Yeah, you do that and tell the mech's to get Revolution ready to launch."

"What! You're going out there?" The man said surprised at the request.

"Of course. I'm supposed to be fighting a war against both the EA and ZAFT and up until now I haven't done that so I'm starting now. Prep my mobile suit for launch and no buts."

"But--"

"You heard him! Get the machine ready!" The Captain of the ship hollered, "We were ordered to help him cause trouble for both sides so get to it!"

"Yes sir!" Came the resounded answer from everyone in the room but Scion who was already out the door and heading to the hangar bay.

**The Hangar Bay, 4:00 P.M.**

Scion floated through the hangar doors and saw that everyone was going about in a frenzy to get out of the way and to do final checks on Revolution. Soon Scion was in the suit and everyone was evacuated.

"Okay, Scion Kazuma you are clear to launch."

"Roger."

"**3..."**

"**2..."**

"**1..."**

"Scion Kazuma launching!"

The sound and smell of jet fire could be heard and smelled as the white machine lifted off into the black of space, the ship didn't have a catapult. The funnels activated and soon the Gundam was rocketing towards the battlefield, it's first since it's naming.

**The EA Capital Ship, 4:15 P.M.**

"Commander! Heat source detected coming from beyond the battle field." One of the men on the bridge responded as it watched a new blimp show up on radar.

"Identify it then and tell if it's an enemy!" The captain remarked calmly.

The young man went into a moment of typing and waited for the results to pop up.

"…Negative sir! We can't identify it! It must be a new enemy weapon cause it's not in our database."

"Put it on screen now."

"Yes sir." The man again began typing then all looked as a screen popped up showing the white and azure machine fly through space as if an angel of death descending on them.

"What is that!"

"…." The Captain sat down and looked at the machine with wide eyes.

_So that is Doctor Takashi's war machine…the old man actually carried out what he said he would. The first of the Gundam's that he created and the only one the EA wouldn't take…_

"Commander Halberton! What do we do!"

"Nothing, see what it's intentions are first and tell all of our MA's to avoid it if possible." The commander of the Earth Alliances 8th fleet ordered.

"Yes sir.." Not everyone understood this order but they trusted Halberton enough to obey.

On the outside the ZAFT forces didn't know what to think but assumed the new machine was an enemy and sent three GINN's to set up communication with the enemy to determine it's objective. They formed a triangle formation and stopped as the approaching unknown came closer.

"Identify yourself!" The leader of the three man group responded through an open com-link.

The answer was a shot from Scion's beam rifle followed be a response.

"To stop this fighting…even if it means destroying your will to fight!"

Revolution dashed forward while the three GINN's opened fire with their MMI-M8A3 76mm heavy assault machine gun. The bullets fly at Scion who simply executes this funnels who make a forward shield to block the incoming salvo.

"Holy shit! It's a shield!" The leader screams as he is rammed into by the shield and sent of backwards while the other two mobile suits blast off to the sides of Scion to try and attack from behind.

_Heh, I only need to use four funnels to create a shield like that. Watch out!_

As the two mobile ready to fire the pilots are stunned as the two extra funnels appear in front of them, one in front of each, there is only a second of silent before the mobile suits are impaled by the funnels beam lasers. Scion's other four funnels quickly dispose of the third.

"Okay, three down and lots to go!" The funnels returned to Scion who shot off in the direction of the battle field.

On the battle field mobile armors zoomed across the open space blasting at the ZAFT mobile suits who returned fire from their various weapons. The entering of the new mobile suit did nothing to the battle as if he never entered but entered he did and soon Scion was the target of both sides.

The white machine chased after a EA mobile armor while the funnels covered his rear from two enemy GINN's, firing at them to make them concentrate on dodging rather then firing on Scion.

"I got you know you little punk! Just wai…" Scion's taunt was cut short by that feeling of awareness again. He slammed the controls and made a instant boost to the left dodging a beam from one of the ZAFT vessels. Scion turned his attention to the two GINN's and disposes of them by surrounding them with his funnels and firing one after another, the two are destroyed almost instantly.

"Okay, now you're mine!" Scion yelled into the com-link, even though no one was listening.

Revolution turned about, with the funnels re-attached, and blasted off towards the ship that had assaulted them. In response the vessel, a Gamow, fired a salvo of it's 450mm multipurpose missiles from it's vertical launch system which caused Revolution's "**Igelstellung**" to activate and begin shooting as many of the missiles down. One explosion from a destroyed missile would catch another and soon most of the missiles were no more, the others left over were easily dodged.

"You're going down!" Scion readied his rifles anti-armor shotgun for use, Yumi had the bayonet attachment back on earth, and began a direct charge at the Gamow. The Gamow unleashed it's 450mm dual rail guns which caused Scion to activate his funnels defense system and surround himself in a protective shield from which he could be protected from any shots he couldn't dodged.

"I got you now!" Scion cried as his distance decreased but before he could get within firing range he suddenly pulled back on the controls and blasted to the underbelly of the ship just as it's 937mm Dual High Energy cannons fired at a cluster of enemies behind Scion.

_How am I able to see those things before they happen? It doesn't make sense…_

Scion's thoughts didn't stop his assault as he finally reached the belly of the Gamow and aimed his rifle.

_**-BOOM-**_

An explosion from the shotgun as it tore into the ship and caused a gaping hole in it. Scion boosted away from it and aimed the mini rockets in his shield. Three of them were used and flew into the ships open hull, the explosions spread through the ship and soon it was no more.

The fighting continued and Scion found that his mobile suit had the most trouble dealing with the enemy ships since it didn't have powerful long range weaponry. He had to get close to them and that meant drawing the attention of the entire ship and it's nearby allies which meant a slow fight to the ship. The mobile suits however were a much simply thing since a correctly placed beam rifle round could down a GINN.

_So…this is real battle. This is what it means to wage war…huh? Again!_

Scion avoided another shot by an enemy mobile suit, ZAFT GINN, and quickly dispatched it and sent the pilot on it's way to the afterlife. He noticed the explosions had died down and that the ZAFT forces, the main target of Scion's attacks, were retreating.

"Pilot of the new war machine. This is Read Admiral Lewis Halberton. Identify yourself and state your objectives for partaking in this battle." Came the commander of the still mostly intact Earth Alliance ship.

"My name is none of your concern, nor that of the Earth Alliance." Scion retorted.

"You helped us in that battle, why?"

"Because, it was needed and in this battle your are the lesser of the two evils. Don't flatter yourself anymore then that."

"That is Doctor Takashi's machine is it not? I had an active hand in the creation of the five prototypes and I'm guessing that was the sixth one that Doctor Takashi tried to convince the EA to create along with their own machines."

"And what if it is? It doesn't belong to the EA anyway so you're wasting air."

"Just tell me your name.."

"Scion Kazuma…a name you will know soon enough."

"Kazuma…the second squad leader that lead the Junius Seven attack."

Scion spazzed randomly at the mention of that operation. He didn't' want to think about it and definitely didn't want to talk about it with someone from the EA.

"You don't know what you are talking about…you don't know anything about me!"

"I know you were the pilot that commander Felix talked to over the secure com. We were sharing that frequency and I heard everything….so you were the one that got away. The one that actually left the EA. The only one to get out alive…a legend among the troops, some people don't believe you were killed, said you were too good to be killed like that…after that performance I believe it. It must have been hard when you heard what was going on and then to witness it, you must have been devastated. You must have hated the EA for what it made you do."

"Shut up! Don't act like you know so much! You don't have a god damn clue why I left the EA! Don't start labeling me like you have any idea what I went through on that operation….don't you dare." Scion's mobile suit turned to face the EA's fleet, staring it down with it's cold yellow eyes.

"It's to bad….we could use a pilot like you. For the other G-Weapons. But what's done is done and you seem to have your own path in this war. I hope we don't meet again for I fear it will turn into a dreadful day for one of us…"

"…." Revolution turned quickly and jetted off into space, to escape that man's talk about Junius and his all knowing banter.

The thing that got Scion the most was that….he was right.

_Halberton…I'll be sure to see him face to face someday…_

Scion thoughts began drifting back to his time in the EA and he quickly grabbed a frequency for a radio station to drown out his thoughts with music. He went through numerous channels trying to find something he could relate to until…

**I feel like there is no need for conversation**

**  
Some questions are better left without a reason**

**  
And I would rather reveal myself than my situation**

**  
Now and then I consider, my hesitation **

Scion let the channel stay as he listened to the words of the song. His running from Halberton seemed like he was trying to hide himself and avoid conversation.

**The more the light shines through me**

**  
I pretend to close my eyes**

**  
The more the dark consumes me**

**  
I pretend I'm burning, burning bright **

Scion could relate this to his entire being. In the light of things, which to him represented justice and peace, he seemed to close his eyes to what was really going on around him. It was because he closed his eyes that he didn't see what was really going to happen at Junius. The part about the darkness too represented Scion, for only when he was on the brink of giving up did he truly try. Like after the attack on Doctor Takashi when he went into a state of increased awareness and was able to do such incredible things, it was in a time of pain and darkness to Scion that he was able to battle like he had never done before.

**I wonder if the things I did were just to be different**

**  
To spare myself of the constant shame of my existence**

**  
And I would surely redeem myself in my desperation**

**  
Here and now I'll express, my situation **

Scion slumped back in his seat as Revolution tore across space heading back to his temporary base. He wanted to be a pilot to be different, to be better, and do get rid of the shame of being a Natural that couldn't compete with a Coordinator….

**The more the light shines through me**

**  
I pretend to close my eyes**

**  
The more the dark consumes me**

**  
I pretend I'm burning, burning bright **

Scion sighed and let the words travel threw his head and it served only to reinforce the meaning of the song and it's similarity to Scion's own life.

**There's nothing ever wrong but nothing's ever right**

**  
Such a cruel contradiction**

**  
I know I cross the lines its not easy to define**

**  
I'm born to indecision**

**  
There's always something new some path I'm supposed to choose**

**  
With no particular rhyme or reason **

Scion gripped his head after quickly turned the radio off, it was to much for him. The EA attack that was right and yet it should never have happened. The soldiers being killed when they tried to leave the EA. The whole war against the other race that was right to each side but wrong to the other. Scion was also always forced to choose a path but he never seemed to be able to dictate what those paths would be. He choose to be the pilot of Revolution because he killed Axle…because he was forced to by instinct and then he was pushed even further down that path when Doctor Takashi died along with his facility.

And in the black of space Scion wondered if he ever had a choice in the direction of his life. At the time it seemed Scion was only able to control whether he died or lived….

**Home Base, 8:00 P.M.**

Scion had quickly put everyone into a 'leave Scion alone' mode. They would never have tried to bother him and see what was wrong. Scion had spent his time since he got back unto the ship, which had been roughly an hour, in his room where he just kept beating himself up mentally for his lack of control over his life.

They were a week from the PLANT's since they wanted to keep a low profile and not make a bee-line for the colony housing Siegel Clyne.

**September 5, C.E. 70**

**Outside the PLANT's Aprilius City 1, 12:00 P.M.**

It had taken longer to get there then they thought. They were stopped a few times and were almost found out, which would have resulted in some nasty fighting, but got lucky and managed to get near Aprilius 1 only five days later then planned. They now had to wait and go through a number of check points. To counteract this a smaller vessel loaded unto the garbage ship was launched carrying Scion and two others, the pilot and a pretend worker. Revolution was left behind to avoid any unnecessary fighting. Scion was against it at first, he had never been far from Revolution unless he willed it, but eventually gave in and he was now on his way to the colony.

They were checked six times with the only hiccup being that Scion kept his gun with him but had it empty and said it was just for looks incase he needed security while going through EA controlled space. It was enough for the guards.

The vessel was docked and Scion stepped out of the small ship and looked about the hangar in the colony, it was highly automated and advanced, but there was a relaxed feel to it since it was a peaceful place and had not been the target of attack as of yet.

Scion soon went on his way while the other two went shopping for supplies, food, water, repair parts for their ship supposedly which was their excuse for getting things for Scion's Gundam. Scion on the other hand went looking for some way to find where Siegel Clyne kept residence.

He talked to a few people about Siegel's daughter, Lacus, and made ideal chat about the two. He would then slowly bring up the issue of wishing he could meet them and then being sarcastic about stalking them but he didn't know where they lived since he was knew. They laughed and after a while he found out where the two stayed and he was on his way to the living quarters of Lacus and Siegel Clyne.

**The Clyne Residence**, **2:00 P.M.**

Scion looked through the automated gates and stood between him and his target. He just needed a way over it. He didn't like the idea of breaking and entering so he began walking around the perimeter to look for a weak point. It was a nice looking area with few tree's but they were pretty tree's nonetheless. The area was green with a nice view of the city behind the building. The rich and powerful were indeed lucky.

_I might be able to use one of the tree's to get over the wall but getting out would require another exit should I need to make a hasty one…_

Soon Scion had gone around the entire perimeter of the building and found no suitable entrance that he liked. He could get in but he didn't know if he could safely and quickly get out. He sighed to himself and looked up at the sky as he came about to the front entrance again. He slumped next to the gate and looked at the sky above. If anyone asked what he was doing he'd just say he was taking a walk and catching his breath while taking a break. No one could say otherwise against him.

"Why, what are you doing here may I ask?" A soft voice, obviously from a girl, came to his ears. Scion in turn instantly jumped to his feet from surprise and out of reflex. The girl looked at him with an amused face from behind the bars.

"My, I didn't mean to startle you. Forgive me." The girl continued. Scion by his time had been given enough time to get his act in gear and turn around to face the idol pop star of the PLANT's, Lacus Clyne.

"…You did get a jump out of me. I didn't expect anyone to talk to me, more so from anyone living in that building." Scion said quickly feeling a little inferior now that he looked at the beautiful girl in front of him.

Scion didn't know much about Lacus Clyne since he didn't live in the colonies himself but her music he did hear a lot, and couldn't go five minutes without hearing it in the colony. He brushed himself off and straightened up and waited for her to say something.

"Oh! Where are my manners! I forgot to introduce myself, I am Lacus Clyne. Who are you?" The introduced Clyne said with a smile way to damn sincere to be real.

"I'm…I'm Scion Kazuma." Scion said plainly. He felt like he was talking to Yumi since he felt inferior for being younger then her but in this case he felt he shouldn't be able to speak to such a pretty girl, the same would have been said of Cagalli if she wasn't such a tomboy.

"Hmm? Scion? My what an odd name. Did your family give you that name for a reason?"

"A reason?…I, uh, don't know."

"Hmm, Scion means prophesied one. It's a very odd name for a parent to give it's child. That is unless they knew you were going to be special." Again the smile daunted Scion and shook his at his core. How could something appear to innocent with everything going on around them? Here in this place of nature and calm, with a iron barrier between them Scion stood looking at this Lacus Clyne, who's father was in the middle of ZAFT politics, and yet she seemed completely untouched by this. It was a fearful thing to the damned pilot that survived only by the sacrifice of others.

"Is that? I didn't know that…" Scion's voice was soft and weak against his own will. He turned his gaze away and turned it back by a new voice that came into his hearing.

"Lacus, who are you talking to?" Said a man with blonde hair and of middle age dressed in fine clothes and seemed to have a face that had seen its fair share of disappointments.

"Oh, hello father. I was just talking to this nice young man here. His name is Scion Kazuma. Scion this is my father, Siegel Clyne."

The father came forward and nodded to Scion before whispering to Lacus who gave a surprised look and bid farewell to Scion hastily before taking off back to the house. The father turned his head to Scion and gave a friendly smile.

"She is expecting her finance any day now and had a call from him. I should be going no--" The man was cut off as he noticed something about Scion. Scion adverted his gaze from the man.

"What..? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"It's…it's nothing. You must have come a long way to get here. Why don't you come in and have some refreshments?"

Scion gave a confused look mixed with surprise.

_What? What is with the sudden turn around Clyne? He doesn't know me from somewhere does he? No…that's impossible…Either way, it's my way into the compound and if I take care of myself I won't have to run from his place._

Scion nodded to Siegel who smiled and opened the gate. Who then led him inside his house…for what reasons Scion did not know yet.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **So again I am at my notes so here we go. This is a rather lengthy fighting scene though I found it revolved more around Halberton and Scion's conversation then the actual fighting when I finally looked at it. Either way I thought the fighting turned out good but since GINN's don't have beam sabers I couldn't have those cool duels and stuff TT, ah well. Moving along. 

I didn't think I needed to describe Lacus since everyone SHOULD know what she looks like, I only described Cagalli cause she was wearing different clothes and Lacus was in her normal attire post the Three Ship Alliance. Her father was a tricky fellow since he rarely shows up and when he does it's never for too long.

Some of you may be wondering what the title of this chapter means and to find out you'll have to stay tuned. Have fun and I hope everyone continues reading!

Also for for any and all typos...I've been wanting to get this through and in my haste I may have missed a few things. I will remedy them as soon as I have time.


	11. War of Broken Hearts II

**Chapter 6: War of Broken Hearts**

**Part II**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

**September 5, C.E. 70**

**Inside the Clyne Residence, 2:00 P.M.**

Scion walked behind Siegel as he led Scion into his house. The door opened and the older man stepped in with Scion following right after.

Then came the stampede…

"Haro!"

"Haro! Haro!"

"Haro, Haro, Haro, Haro, Haro!"

"HARO!"

All at once these mechanical balls of every color, of every shade, and of every kind of face, came rushing at him and surrounded him. Scion jumped and then his body recoiled away from them as they crowded around him and jumped up at him.

"Haro, stop that!" Siegel cried to the strange machines.

"Haro…" They all said sadly before they began filing out of the room silently.

" **_-Laughter- _**They seem to like strange people like you!"

Scion's eyebrow twitched repetitively as Siegel laughed at Scion and his surprise. His shoulders slumped and he gave a loud sigh.

"Come come, sit down in my office. I'll make some coffee." The council member said softly as he motioned to a seat at a simple round table in a room down the hall. Scion complied and Siegel shut the door behind them.

Once settled Scion had time to take a look about and notice that this place was indeed a very lovely place to live. It was expensive he was sure but it was simple too. Paintings big and small were hung on the wall while nice flooring with rugs, carpets in some of the other rooms, decorated the floors. To the ceiling were chandlers and around him were tables, couches, chairs, computers, and numerous little things such as pictures and documents scattered about.

"So, why did you come all the way out here? Siegel asked while he was brewing the coffee, thus cutting the silence that had overtaken them.

"…." Scion wasn't in the position he wanted to be in and so he had never thought of an answer to this question that was now presented to him. He looked down at his lap trying to think of something to say or something to do to dodge the question until a later time.

"You're half Natural and Coordinator aren't you?" Siegel said randomly as he came with the coffee and put it on the table. Scion in response quickly stood up with his hands on the table.

"What makes you think that!" Scion yelled defensively.

"One, you got defensive about it and two…you have those eyes."

Scion stiffened and he lifted his left hand to cover his left eye as if checking if it was there or not. At the time it came as a reflex.

"Normally when a Coordinator and Natural have intercourse a Coordinator is made because the Coordinator genes are dominant. But, there are those rare cases when the genetic code decides to throw a loop at human kind. Your red eyes are a sign of that loop."

"What kind of loop?"

Siegel stood up with his coffee and walked over to a window and looked to the outside world. He took a sip before going on.

"ZAFT will lose the war. Not because we are inadequate to win or because the EA is stronger. We will lose because the Coordinator race is dying. We have seen that by the third generation there are signs of reversal, in other words Coordinators will eventually return to being Naturals."

"That doesn't explain the loop.."

" **_-Chuckles- _**You don't get it? Your eyes are the loop. You with red eyes are 'perfect' coordinators that will never lose your abilities because your genetic code has decided that it will make it so. Down to the tenth generation and beyond your children will always have the abilities you have, it will never diminish. For some reason when Natural and Coordinator breed they may give birth to a Coordinator whose abilities have been decreased to a point where it can become concrete. The whole reason why Coordinators are reverting back is because the human can't accept the enhanced abilities and so through the generation the genetic code slowly kicks the anomalies out."

Scion's eyes opened wide. He looked at his hands for a moment while he let the short speech set in. He? A man that hated Naturals was a Perfect Coordinator? Was his life so filled with Irony?

"How do you know this?" Scion said after he was able to gather himself together.

"Because we've seen it. A man once had the same genetics as you. He was half coordinator like you and was killed just a few years ago. It was his autopsy that gave us the information that created the perfect Coordinator theory. I was one of the men that did the research."

"So are there more of me? I mean more Perfects?"

"Superiors are what we call them, but that's fine too, and no we haven't found another, well, only I have."

"When did you find another?"

"Three years ago when I found out that the man had passed on his genes in a way that no Coordinator would find it unless you were told, which was my case. He was a friend of mine…a good man."

"So is he near my age?"

"He is you in a sense. You are Kiyo's son. Kiyo Mori's son and he is your father. He passed on his genes through a sperm donation when he found out that people were getting suspicious about him, since he was half Coordinator like you. He told me about it before he was killed by some of the radicals that made it look like an accident. I've been watching you ever since to see if you would become like him and if the concrete gene theory was correct…it was…….and he was also the man that I told you was killed."

Scion sat back down slowly in his chair. It seemed to him that so many people knew more about him then they should. His mom knew he was half coordinator and he didn't, Halberton knew about the attack on Junius and how he survived, and this man knew his father! When would he be able to bury those secrets without them coming up?

"So how much do you know about me?"

"Not much. Once you joined the EA I lost contact with you for a while until you appeared in Orb Union with Takashi."

"You know the Doctor?"

"No, someone tried to get information on Kiyo some time ago and succeeded. It was through that link that I was able to track you."

_Must have been Yumi…when she searched me._

"How much do you know about my actions then?"

"Little to nothing until you destroyed a small Earth Alliance fleet. Then it was kind of obvious for our spies to see what was going on."

"**_-Grumbles- _**I didn't make that much of a scene." Scion remarked bitterly.

" **_-Laughter- _**Of course you didn't. Either way we know that you are the pilot of that new machine and currently owe allegiance to no one."

"And you are happy about this?"

"Yes, is that wrong? To give that power to the EA would be bad for ZAFT but keeping it from ZAFT is also a good thing….this way has dragged on longer then I would have liked it too. It's good this way."

"Fair enough but why are you telling me this? Why did you bring me here?"

" **_-Sigh-_** You trust no one just like your father. To be honest I owe you father a favor or two and beyond that….you are the hope of the Coordinator race. As such I feel obligated to give you a little help even if it's just information. That is why you came here isn't it? To get my support?"

"….Again…fair enough. So what can I ask of you?"

"Many things, that is until you become known as a threat to ZAFT which will make helping you harder. Do you need anything now?"

Scion leaned back in his seat and thought silently to himself. He could use some time to study the rules or war and get a more definite battle plan in line. He could also use that time to get in contact with Yumi and see what was going on at her end.

"A place to stay for a while and books on war. I don't see myself staying for more then a month at most. Just enough time to learn how ZAFT works so I can make use of my influence, once I gain it that is."

"I can do that. Can I ask though what you plan is?"

"At this point…the plan is to simple make sure that neither side wins because that spells genocide for the loser. After a while the war will just become pointless and it should come to an end. I plan on ending it long before that though.."

Siegel nodded and appeared ready to speak before a beeping noise came form a computer terminal not far from where Scion sat. Siegel went to it and accepted a typed message.

"Hmmm...I'm called to a meeting. Feel free to make yourself at home, I'll tell the workers to allow you to be on the premises and treat you as a guest. Excuse me Scion."

With that the man left Scion sitting in his chair. He didn't like where he was at the time, it was all to easy….much too easy. Scion decided to shake the feeling off and explore a bit and perhaps find that girl, Lacus, again.

**The Clyne Residence, the Back Yard, 4:00 P.M.**

Scion opened the screen door and stepped out into the shining sun. He had been led to believe that Lacus was somewhere out here, he had followed the trail of Haro's to this place. And indeed there she was with another young man, with dark hair and blue eyes. He was dressed plainly but he couldn't be plain if he was talking with the Idol Pop star. He decided to approach them. Lacus noticed him first.

"Oh, Mr. Kazuma how are you? Did my father invite you in? That was awful nice of him!" The abnormally happy girl said.

"Uh, yes. I talked to him a bit and we've come to a sort of agreement. He's helping me with something."

"I see. I'm very glad that we can be of help Mr. Kazuma. Oh! This man sitting with me is Athrun Zala, my fiancé."

_Fiancé? With a Zala no less! I've heard that Clyne and Zala aren't on good terms politically…strange circumstances._

"Hello. I'm Athrun as Lacus stated. Nice to meet you." Said the blue haired man as he stood from his seat and extended his hand to Scion.

"Likewise, I'm Scion Kazuma." Scion took his hand and they gripped each others hand firmly and shook a solid handshake.

"Please, sit down Mr. Kazuma and join us. We were just talking about recent events. Athrun is in the military and is quite the pilot." Lacus said though she seemed to not like the fact he was in the war. Glad to see she wasn't so happy all the time was Scion's thoughts.

"Really? What made you want to join the military? Just fell out that way?"

Athrun threw Scion a kind of cold glance. He looked to the side and took in a heavy breath.

"You must not get out much if you don't know…my mother died in the Bloody Valentine tragedy...I joined because of that."

Scion felt like he was just stabbed in the stomach. He was looking directly into the face of someone who's life he had torn asunder. He felt his hand turn into a fist and clench his pants tightly as he stared at the ground in front of his seat and under the table. Lacus seemed to think something was wrong.

"Is everything okay Mr. Kazuma? Did you lose someone in the war?"

"…I've lost a family member to this surge of Racism overtaking space and I've lost several people because of this war." Scion said bitterly as he thought of his father who was killed because of him being what Scion now was and thought of Axle who died because of his hate for Coordinators. And then his mind drifted to Doctor Takashi who he lost because of the EA's need to power…

"Oh dear, I'm sorry to hear that. Was it recently?"

"A few of them, yes. It's not important though, no point in re-opening old wounds."

"I keep trying to tell Lacus that the Earth Forces have to be beaten if we Coordinators are to live in peace. I'll never forgive the Naturals for what they did to my mother, for what they did to those hundreds of thousands of innocents!" Athrun said defiantly as if he was being watched by his mother who waited for revenge to be taken for her. Lacus gave a concerned look while Scion just stared at him for a moment.

A silence overtook the group now, with the occasional 'HARO' breaking the silence.

"…It may have been an accident or perhaps the soldiers didn't know what they were going to do or perhaps they were given false orders or something…I find it hard to believe that anyone could kill so many people...innocent people at that." Scion said, attempting to defend the EA and himself.

"An accident! How is launching nuclear missiles an accident! And getting false orders or not knowing wouldn't make sense! If they had the nuclear missiles on board then the mission should be pretty obvious." Athrun said with a voice that felt like daggers stabbing at Scion, since ironically he was one of the teams sent to destroy Junius.

"What makes you think that because of the EA that all Naturals are bad! You shouldn't condemn them all for the act of a few! And look at us? We dropped the N-Jammers which is starving millions!"

"It's better then the EA throwing nuclear missiles at all of our colonies! And if the Naturals just learned to use a better power source then nuclear power then they wouldn't have this problem!"

Scion now stood up, feeling agitated at Athrun's cold and uncalled for verbal attacks on Naturals. Scion also felt angered by the fact that this fool across from him thought that the EA pilots 'wanted' to shoot Junius down. Not only that but he was defending himself from his attacks, since he was partly to blame for the success of the mission.

"Hold on one gosh darn minute! Don't think you can just label all the Naturals just because you lost someone in this war! You aren't the only one to lose someone The Naturals are humans as well! It's people like you that keep this war going!" Scion yelled while attempting to hold himself back from jumping across that table and have at it with Athrun.

"Boys! Please! Lets not fight!" Lacus cried out as the two men stared the other down with cold eyes. Scion grunted and planted himself in his seat at roughly the same second as a random noise came into hearing, it appeared to come from Athrun.

"…." Athrun silently turned and checked a pager it seemed and his frown became very evident. He stood up and regarded Lacus, "I'm being called in Lacus. I'll stop by again when I have time."

"Okay, Athrun. Be careful…" Her voice trailed off but she smiled once the boy gave her a kiss on the cheek. He glanced at Scion for a moment but decided to just walk towards the house and the front door.

"I'm terribly sorry about that Mr. Kazuma. Athrun is very protective when it comes to this war and his mother."

" **_-Grunt- _**He shouldn't act so childish….Bah! I'm going to walk around a bit and cool off. Talk to you later." Scion stood after giving Lacus his farewell. Lacus nodded slowly and watched as the young man walked away with this hands in his pockets.

**Time passed quickly for the young Coordinator. Siegel was often gone on official business and Lacus gone even more with tours and fan clubs. Scion spent his time reading, learning strategy and learning about ZAFT politics. He contacted Yumi and had her begin to gather information about the ZAFT and EA military, as much as she could without endangering herself and Scion.**

…**..Scion ended up staying longer then he wanted, mostly because when it was time to leave Siegel was not around in fact Siegel was gone on a very important trip that would soon send Scion into a new kind of war.**

**December 29, C.E. 70**

**Inside the Clyne Residence, 2:00 P.M.**

Scion sat in the living quarters. He was alone…again. He had gotten tired of being alone in this house with only the many book Siegel had given him to keep him company. He was called earlier to wait for Siegel so they could talk about some urgent news. Whatever it may be Scion wasn't too worried since he had gotten used to the 'routine' lifestyle.

The door opened and Siegel hurried in and dropped some things on a nearby table before looking at Scion.

"I have big news! I've gotten an interesting rumor that the EA has created five prototype machines on an Orb controlled colony!"

Scion looked at the middle aged man. He hadn't told him about the EA war machines and he was slightly surprised that he found out at all. Siegel went on before Scion could interject.

"Not only that but I've gotten reports that one of our own is going to investigate!"

"Who?"

"….Creuset…"

A familiar name to Scion now. He was a competent commander among the ZAFT gossip but known to be a bit odd and didn't always follow orders, but never to an extreme sense. He was also known to be on good terms with Patrick Zala. Though that didn't sit well with Scion since he was said to be a top pilot among the entire military. If they got a hand on the new prototypes then the balance of power would shift largely in ZAFT favor.

"..Shit…he might just launch an attack on that colony…and we don't need Orb getting involved…Get me a way out and I'll be right on it."

"I have a shuttle prepared which you can have your man capture and get you on your way."

Scion nodded and quickly stood up and walked over to the man and patted him on the shoulder. Siegel pointed to a small card among his papers and Scion picked it up.

"I'll get in contact if I need you." Scion said while looking back at Siegel.

"Good luck Scion Kazuma. May your future be blessed.

Scion didn't respond. He quietly shut the door and left the estate. It took him a day to get to the airport, since he had to contact his aids to pick him up and tell Yumi what was going on, she then told him that she would be meeting him in space soon.

**Orb Union, Location Unknown, 3:00 P.M.**

_**-RING-**_

Cagalli looked down at her cell phone and took it out of her pocket to see a small message. She read the text message slowly before looking up at the sky with an angry face. Obviously she got some tip that she didn't like one bit.

Hours later Cagalli was on her way to the Orb controlled Colony to see about a new weapon that was being created there. She didn't want to believe that what Scion said about Orb helping the EA was true...she didn't want to believe that her nation was doing anything of the sort.

* * *

**Authors Notes: This chapter is short but finally we are coming into the many story. I should make a note that unlike some other authors I will be showing mostly Scion's point of view and only if I deem it very important will I switch to other views. Since most people reading this have seen the Anime you should be familiar with everything and be interested in seeing what Scion's role in the Cosmic Era will be. **

**Lacus and Athrun will become larger characters so you Athrun and Lacus fans just be patient. Like most of the other encounters that Scion has I do them for a reason. Points to the Cagalli thing Explains how she ends up on the colony eh?  
**

**Also, with school in gear I will be cutting back on my writing time. I will try to get some more chapters out soon though and I hope I will have the next one within the next month.**

**-Arc**


	12. Behind Another's Eyes

**Chapter 7: From Behind Another's Eyes**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

_**Author's Notes: After thinking I've decided to use another's point of view for this chapter. To just stick with Scion might get repetitive and I should use the point of view of other important characters, though I won't use Kira and all them unless the story changes for one reason or another since they already have their parts.**_

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**January 10, C.E. 71**

**On route to Heliopolis, 10:00 A.M.**

Setback after setback plagued Scion and his small crew as they attempted to catch up with Rau Le Creuset and his small force, who was taking a slow path to keep his fleet undetected from an EA fleets.

Scion who was trying his hardest to catch up was being plagued by constant ZAFT vessels wanting to sort through the junk for anything useful, which would put Scion on edge as they were persuaded to leave their 'haul' alone so they could move on. Besides that they didn't know exactly what route Rau was taking so they had to just head to Heliopolis hoping to get their before the Creuset team.

Scion sat in his quarters reading over a message on his computer, it was from Yumi. She was heading into space with a kind of prototype ship. It was meant to carry the Gundam and only the Gundam and could achieve extremely high speeds for hit and run tactics, which would ideally suit Scion's plan of attack on the EA and ZAFT. It was armed with mainly anti-missile and other defensive weapon systems. The ship had no name and was currently on it's way and would meet Scion and his current ship where they would transfer everything unto the new ship.

Scion tapped his fingers on the keyboard of the computer, he had finished the letter some time ago. He was actually feeling nervous. This wasn't just a battle with random people like before, Creuset had a reputation and a damn good one too…. He was a bit intimidated.

The days seemed to crawl by…

**January 24, C.E. 71**

**Secret Military Development, Orb Section, 9:00 A.M.**

Sixteen year old Shigen Hatake, dressed in Orb's standard military uniform sat in the waiting for the Director of Orb's mobile suit development project with the EA to come see him. Shigen was one of those people that looked younger then he actually was. He was a bit shorter then an average person his age and his brown hair was always done in military fashion, he was of average build and of high intelligent. He also wore contacts lenses even though he didn't need them, it was a mystery as to why he used them. He was to be assigned to one of the prototype mobile suits that the Orb Union had put together with the EA.

_**-Bing- **_The door near Shigen at the end of the hallway opened up and a man appearing to be in his middle thirties stepped through. He was a stout man with a trimmed beard and an oversized lab coat, his glasses were small and might have been just for looks and not for his eyes. He approached the younger man.

"You must be Shigen Hatake, correct? I am the director of this development base." The small man called out in a rough voice that made Shigen wonder if he smoked.

"Yes, sir. Shigen Hatake reporting for a new assignment." Came his slightly high pitched voice, another reason to question his age.

"Good good, I've heard that you have exceptional skills when it comes to designing OS's. So I'm going to assign you to the crew of one of those four machines to help with the OS."

"Understood!" Shigen stood quickly and saluted to the Director who motioned for him to be followed.

The two passed through the door the small man had just come through which led to another hallway. They walked in silence until they came to the last door on the right which again led another shorter hallway. When they came to the door at the end of the new hallway it turned out to be an elevator, it opened and the two stepped inside.

As the elevator lowered to some unknown level the Director spoke, "We have four prototype mobile suits. Three of them are the Astray's which is to be a mass produced model for our forces. The fourth is the one you will be working on since it is one that can't be easily massed produced and if we did then war would break loose with the EA since we stole some of their technology for it."

"We did? That's surprising since the EA's 5 prototypes are in this same base, you would think they would have found out..."

"Yes, well it's in another area. We stole a small portion of their 'Phase-Shift Armor' but we can't fully re-create it so we have improvised a bit, but, you will see all this later. Oh, looks like you'll see it now." As the man finished, Shigen could feel the elevator come to a stop. The doors opened and Shigen stepped out to see an incredible site.

"Wow…" Before Shigen were the three Astray's that the Director had told him of, they stood in Red, Blue, and Gold and seemed identical for the most part but they appeared so powerful just by looking at them that he felt a small shiver come over him.

"Ensign Hatake, you will be looking at this machine. Though at this time I am putting you in charge of the entire crew for that machine."

"The entire crew!" Shigen was stunned by that sudden promotion.

"Hahahah! Don't be so modest. I looked over your resume and you've been a leader of many crews for the Orb Union. You just do what you do best and you should do fine. I have faith in the Union's people."

Shigen couldn't think of anything to say. It was true that people called him a mobile suit and mobile armor expert when it came to OS developing and he was given a lot of demanding jobs but to be given control over this machine was something he had not expected. Feeling that he couldn't turn the deal down, Shigen bowed and went over to meet the crew.

In five minutes time, after meeting everyone and getting out orders, Shigen was inside the mobile suit, ready to start working.

"Okay, lets start this baby and see what's inside."

Shigen brought the machine to life, it's opening screen was not set in and just showed the loading process.

"Oh, yeah. This machine was going to be another Astray until we got that new info from the EA, so this machine was just recently reconfigured so everything brand new on it." One of the older mechanics said.

"I see…well give me it's Spec's and I can get on my way."

"Happen to have it right here, boss."

Shigen took the clipboard from the man as it was handed to him and he started looking it over…

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**Model number: MBF-P04**

**Code name: Clarity**

**Unit type: Prototype Assault Mobile suit, **

**Color: White Core and Joints, with Black covering any other component**

**Manufacturer: Orb Union**

**Operator: N/A  
**

**Accommodation: Pilot Only**

**Dimensions:18.05 meters**

**Weight: 68.5 tons**

**Power plant: Prototype Engine (3-Way Hyper Tranfer Engine) **

**Thrusters: 94,000 - 103,000 kg **

**Generator: 2,500 - 5,000 kW **

**Equipment and design features: **

----Sensors

----Light Weight alloy

----Extra Armor components

----Solar Panels/Engines (On the shoulders,knee-caps, and on the upper chest area)

**Sensor radius: 27,000 meters **

**Fixed armaments: **

----Proto-type 97mm Beam Rifle/Hand Cannon

----Standard Issue shield w/ Anti-Beam coating

---- **"Crasher"** Close Combat Weapon System

----75mm automatic multi-barrel CIWS "Igelstellung"(2x)

----Two beam sabers placed behind the shoulders.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

Shigen's eyes opened in awe and surprise. This machine at first glance was frightening but this machine as a monster!

"Good lord. It's equipped with a 97mm beam rifle instead of a 57mm, that's like a darn cannon! How can it's thrusters reach 103,000 Kg's? What's this **'Crasher' **system?" Shigen scanned through a few pages looking for the details. After a moment of searching Shigen sat back and thought over the system.

_So…the '**Crasher' **system is kind of canceller against the other Gundam's and their Phase-Shift Armor. With that it could deal damage to them with the average weapon. Also this machine's engine allows it to achieve great speeds through the **'three way system'**. Since this machine is equipped with three solar powered engine, one on the back for thrusters and the normal systems, the right side which fills the power rifle which could be called a hand held cannon, and the other positioned at the torso to power the **'Crasher' **System. The interesting part is that they call draw on solar energy so in space you would have unlimited power but…the greatest ability is to be able to divert energy from two of the any of the engines to one of the others. That would be how the thrusters could achieve insane speeds, not to mention great power for rapid firing of the beam rifle/cannon, I don't see a reason to boost the **'Crasher'** though… but what a magnificent engine._

Shigen brought up the OS, which was the OS from the Astray's. He began working instantly, feeling excited about bringing this machine up to par.

He worked none stop through the coming hours…

**January 24, C.E. 71**

**Secret Military Development, Orb Section, 12:00 P.M.**

Shigen had worked nonstop and he could proudly say that the machine was ready to pilot except for the few precise adjustments for space combat. He stretched in the seat and typed in a few more commands and lines of code before turning the OS off and stepping out unto the raised platform next to Clarity's cockpit.

_**-BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!-**_

The noise shook everyone who looked up at the siren going off, Shigen the most surprised of all. An announcement came over the com, from the EA section.

"We are under attack from ZAFT forces! Evacuate all military related items and turn to your director for more orders. I repeat! We are under attack from ZAFT forces! Evacuate all military related items and turn to your director for more orders. This is not a drill!"

The com died and all turned to the Director who just happened to come in to check on everyone. He looked around and cut the air with his hands.

"Everyone get ready to evacuate everything and destroy and evidence that we can't take! Priority is on Clarity! Move it!"

Everyone began what Shigen could only describe as a scramble. Everyone began rushing to destroy documents and equipment while preparing to move the Clarity to a shuttle to get it out of the way. Shigen got to ground level and rushed over to the Director who was watching some video feed from a security camera. Sadly it showed several ZAFT soldiers swarming over four of the five Gundam's. Shigen watched as men died and then as the ZAFT soldiers took over the enemy.

"Oh no…that's not good." Shigen said, more to himself then anyone.

"No…that's not good and the EA didn't warn us right away either. They must want us to be caught red handed..." The Director said as he clicked the video off, "Shigen, get on the shuttle with Clarity."

"Huh? Why?"

"Because we never assigned a pilot to it and I understand you have some experience."

"Yeah, but, only to help me understand the OS! I've never been in actual combat!"

"We just need you there just in case! Please, you understand the OS since you made it! You would be ideal at this time!"

"But!"

"It's final. You will follow orders! Report to the shuttle now!" With that he thrust his finger towards the shuttle bay and then turned back to the video screen, which one of the men clicked back on.

Shigen with a doubtful look on his face turned about and jogged to the emergency exit on the north side of the hangar. It turned out to be yet another elevator. He stepped in with a few mechanics who were just leaving. This time the elevator rose many floors to the space docks. Before the door could open and let them all out a huge shock shook the group in the elevator and sent them bouncing against the walls until the shock subsided.

Shigen float near the bottom of the elevator, he was knocked momentarily unconscious but quickly came back to himself. He looked about to gain his bearings.

"Ughh…I don't like this elevator…" Shigen said groggily. He pushed himself from the roof of the small compartment, pushing around one of the men, and opened the door of the elevator, which showed that you could get out through the bottom half but not the top. Not wasting time Shigen stuffed the two men through and then followed himself.

Once on the outside he saw that the shuttle had been damaged by an explosion, the damage was minor and soon fixed. After Shigen and Clarity were loaded unto the shuttle the launch sequence began. Shigen sat looking out the same window the pilot was using, as they blasted out of the colony Shigen saw could see some fighting had indeed gone on outside, since some ZAFT mobile suits and more Moebius Armors were seen destroyed.

Shigen watched until the colony was out of site, after which he went to sit in a seat and could only hope the rest of the people on the colony got off.

**On Route to Heliopolis, 2:40 P.M.**

"Damn it, aren't we there yet?" Scion said with a irritated voice. They were now on the unnamed prototype ship. It was not far from the colony now.

"We're almost thei-…Huh?" One of the crew said, he seemed to be checking his radar for something.

"What is it?" Scion remarked as he moved to the crewman.

"Uh, we have a shuttle coming towards us but…this is a transport for Orb! It must be moving it's prototypes!"

"Or maybe ZAFT has stolen them…we better find out. Lets get their attention."

"Roger!" The man nodded to one of his crew mates his put a hand over his left ear which held his headset in place and began calling to the ship.

"Orb transport shuttle, we are currently working for Orb forces as a mercenary force. Please state your reason for being in his space zone." The man talked smoothly and quickly, most of what he said was a lie but that didn't really matter.

"We are the Alias, we are currently transporting a top secret military project to Orb HQ, please offer us any assistance available."

"We can only help if whatever you are carrying overrides our current orders. What is your load?"

There was silence for a minute but shortly after the com came back to life.

"A prototype mobile suit…"

The crewman looked at Scion who looked up, expecting Yumi to be there but she was currently sleeping and was unavailable.

"Tell them we are commandeering their ship and the mobile suit. Tell them to follow us on our way to Heliopolis."

"Yes, sir. It will be-"

"Enemy fire! That transport has missiles!" One of the defense systems crew yelled to the captain, who ordered appropriate maneuvers.

"Shit! They must have figured us out or something! I'm launching, We can't let risk ZAFT using an Orb ship for cover!" Scion yelled as he pushed off the ground to the elevator at the back of the bridge.

"Yes, sir! I'll have Revolution prepared for you!" The pilot coordinator cried out.

**On Route Away From Heliopolis, 2:55 P.M.**

"What!" Shigen's eyes opened wide as he heard this request.

"You're the only one with pilot training! This ship is not recognized as a friendly and we must assume it's an enemy! Please, we'll die if you don't!"

"….But….I….Gah! Fine! Get it ready." Shigen spat out before hustling to the cargo area.

Shigen climbed into Clarity and activated the OS, it was equipped with it's extra armor incase it was needed. The machine roared to life with a flash of it's yellow eyes.

"The enemy has launched a enemy mech. It's unknown and approaching fast! Please launch quickly!"

"Fine! Just get me out of here darn it!" Shigen cried back.

The shuttle didn't have a catapult so Shigen had to exit from the cargo bay door once it opened. He glided Clarity out of the shuttle and made his way towards the enemy machine. On approaching it he was awed to see that it was very much alike to his own machine. Shigen gripped the controls, undaunted by this new finding.

"It can be hurt just like any other machine!" Shigen aimed the rifle, locked on, and fired. In a brilliant flash a beam shot twice the size of the norm burst forth at Scion and Revolution.

**Inside Revolution, 3:05 P.M.**

"Holy shit!" Scion yelled as he put himself out of the beams way. He never expected to meet such a powerful shot.

"What the hell was that! A cannon!" He continued his way forward and was greeted by moreof the powerful beam bursts. Scion didn't even attempt to try and use the funnels to block them since he wasn't going to chance a head on collision with whatever that prototype was packing. As they neared Scion made some return fire but the machine not only have an outrageous beam rifle but was very agile as well.

"Son of a! Does it have a ships engine on it!"

**Inside Clarity, 3:20 P.M.**

Shigen was impressed with the mobile suits performance. He had diverted power from the engine that powered the **'Crasher' **and used it to boost the thrusters to find that it was easier to avoid the shot at this speed. His own brute strength seemed to be greater then the enemies as well.

"I'm gonna win!" Shigen cried out as if he had already won. It was in that exact moment that he was suddenly hit from behind. He turned and found a small little object staring down at him, it didn't take long for him to realize he was staring down the barrel of a remote beam rifle. He thrust Clarity upward to get a view of the battle field and found, to his surprise and horror, that there was six of the remotes floating about, all locked on him. The battle had turned.

**Inside Revolution , 3:35 P.M.**

"Hah! I got you!" Scion said as the funnels moved to surround the enemy.

"Scion. The enemy transport has moved away from us and is leaving our radar range." The pilot coordinator said over the com.

"It's fine. Without a transport we can capture this machine. It's better that way. Now you're min…what!"

Scion watched in awe as a blinding blue light erupted from behind the Clarity and then in a burst of light it took off in the direction of the transport. Scion didn't even think of trying to catch it.

As it left his view Scion noted that it was like seeing a comet fly across the sky with almost perfect clarity.

**Inside Clarity, 3:48 P.M.**

Shigen was slammed against his seat as he raced to catch his transport. He had been told to simple keep the enemy busy until the transport was safe, then Clarity could caught up using the combined power of the '**3-Way Engine' **Shigen was greatly pleased to slow the machine down when he caught up…it was monstrously fast in his mind and when he boarded the transport he went immediately to the bathroom and threw up. He thought he would be laid up for the rest of the day.

**Inside the Unnamed ship, 3:55 P.M.**

Scion was once again sitting in his room, thinking about the past battle and in still in his pilot suit. He had been brought back in and told to rest since Heliopolis was not to far from their current position. He was ticked about the past battle but couldn't do anything about it so he let it pass, not that it was a big deal since the fight was more like an exchange of fire and didn't last too long.

After another minute in silence his door opened and in entered Yumi, who for some reason sometimes 'forgot' to knock before entering. She walked over in civilian clothing, a blue blouse and a white mini skirt, which always scared Scion since she looked so different then what he was used too, her hair was done up in a bun though so it wasn't all different. Scion found it easy to not look at her when he spoke to her, not that he a perv or anything...she was just a very pretty girl who seemed to see right through him.

"Scion, you should really stop sulking." Yumi started in her scolding tone.

"Who's sulking? Not me." Scion defended himself, he never understood where she got off scolding him like a mother would her child.

"Fine, I'm not going to argue with you. We're almost there and you should get ready incase ZAFT has beat us there." She seemed a bit on edge as if expecting things to be bad.

"….Get ready how? I'm already in my pilot suit so I can launch whenever. What's wrong? You've never been worried about sortie before."

Yumi shifted uncomfortably as if she was carefully thinking about her words, another oddity.

"I-I..uh…we're just getting into the thick of things with the EA's prototypes. These are mobile suits like Revolution and they won't be so easy to beat…I'm just concerned how you will fare."

Scion didn't buy it. If she really was worried about him then she wouldn't be telling him to 'get ready' she'd be talking about precautions and so on. She wasn't telling him something and he wanted to know what. He'd do it covertly though.

"Fine, fine. Who is running this operation anyway? Who got the idea for the Prototypes?" Scion asked innocently, though he already knew the answer.

"….Halberton, Lewis Halberton. He may be there actually." Yumi said with a hint of glee.

A hint of glee that Scion caught and only served to make him wonder. He stood up and walked forward towards Yumi. He stopped when he was standing beside her.

"I fought Halberton before. It was a big battle and lots of people die--" Scion meant to go on but Yumi semi-gasped which stopped Scion from continuing. He was going to tell her how they talked and stuff but now it seemed irrelevant.

"Umm…are you okay Yumi?" Scion looked to the side to see she was staring at the ground.

"I'm fine, I was just surprised is all. He's said to be a good commander…who takes care of his men." Yumi responded quietly.

Scion opened his mouth to speak but just then the intercom came on.

"Scion, this is the bridge…you might want to see this." The man said, since this wasn't the military Scion had insisted they call him by his first name which took a little getting used to for the men.

"What is it? Heliopolis is under attack?"

"I think you should come up here…"

Scion didn't have to ask twice to know that he was needed. He took one more look at Yumi before patting her on the shoulder and quickly exiting his room. Inside Yumi stood looking forward at the wall at the other end of the room. She walked over to it and stared out the window with a look of worry on her face.

_Please be alive…_

**The Bridge, 2:30 P.M.**

"Dear god…"

As the door slid open and Scion stepped inside he was stopped by the site of not a looming Heliopolis, not a battle torn Heliopolis…a destroyed Heliopolis. It was completely destroyed and was little more then one large floating chunk of debris.

Scion slammed his fist into the wall of the elevator as he stared at a second Junius Seven. He bowed his head and grit his teeth together in agony. He had enough trouble dealing with one destroyed colony and now somewhere in the back of his mind he feared he couldn't take another mental attack like before...somewhere else in the back of his mind told her he should be glad he didn't see it happen. The truth was still there though.

He had failed again…

"Sir! We have an engine firing up on the far side of the colony. No! Two! The first may be a decoy since they came from the same place…a third!" One of the crew man said quickly as he checked his radar.

"Can you confirm any of them!"

"The first is unknown as is the second. The third is a Zaft vessel…now wait! Two ZAFT vessels, they are on the rim of our radar range and I couldn't tell before and they appear to be chasing at the second radar signature. The first unknown is going in the direction of EA HQ on the moon while the second is heading towards Artemis! Orders captain?"

The caption looked back at Scion who was still off in his own world. He frowned to see such a young man in pain, he was briefed on Scion's past history and knew this must be very painful.

"You said two ZAFT vessels? That must be Rau Le Creuset! If they are pursing that second signal then that must be an EA ship. We follow the Creuset team! Is that okay Scion?" The caption looked to the young man with a smile. Scion simply looked up with a very grim look on his face.

"Yes, if they have the prototypes then we have to get them… and even if they don't…I still want them to-

"Good! You heard him! Follow the ZAFT vessel now!" The Captain cut Scion off before he could finish and spook the crew. He turned to Scion and motioned for him to go back to his quarters. The young man complied without expression of emotion. When he returned Yumi was gone and Scion spent his time laying on his bed waiting for them to catch the Rau Le Creuset, to pay them for their sins, for the sin that should never have happened again.

**On Route to Earth, 3:00 P.M.**

Shigen was still on edge. Ever since that short fight with that other prototype he didn't know what to do with himself. He was just so wound up at the moment. He tried doing exercises but that didn't help and he feared he'd never get himself calmed down. His experience in the cockpit of a mobile and piloting it into battle was thrilling beyond compare and Shigen just couldn't contain himself, he actually wanted to pilot again.

But he was told to stay in his room until they made it to Orb Union and to safety. Shigen looked around his quarters, the walls were blank and everything was obviously new since there was no signs of use. This made the room look very…plain. Shigen didn't like his position but forced himself to lie down and try to catch some sleep. For his own sake.

Shigen just knew that he wanted to pilot again…and somehow he felt that he would.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **So now we've got a third character into the fold. From here on out the I'll be spending some time on Yumi and Shigen, probably Yumi more then Shigen until later on. I decided that instead of staying with Scion I'll use all the viewpoints of the characters I made since that will probably make things more enjoyable to the readers. 

That said, we have finally reached the anime's timeline and now I have to think carefully on the characters and their personalities, and believe me some people are harder then others, like Dearka and some of the less important people. But I will do my best and if you think I've failed somewhere then tell me.

Oh, if some of the fan want something to be changed in the series then say so in a review and please put why, what you think may come of it, and I may consider it. Though for the most part i'm gonna try to keep things linear but I can and do have somethings in mind to change.

Well, I hope you all like thsi chapter, it's longer then others and I hope I got out all the kinks but I'm horrible at finding my own errors so if you find any blaring mistakes then put that in to change also. Thanks for your support.

-Arcaner


	13. The Beginning of Everything

**Chapter 8: The Beginning of Everything  
**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

_**Author's Notes: Well, this is the hard part for me, to put my characters into the story without making the story go nuts. Wish me luck and in your reviews I'd appreciate any idea's, small and large.**_

Secondly, I've read over my work and I will address an issue now. I'm sure some of you have read this fic and thought that some things have happened without warning and seemed very random and I will tell you that that was the entire point of doing this solely from the main characters point of view. You see nothing from anyone's point of view but Scion's, Yumi's, and now Shigen.

So when Axle betrayed Scion the feeling of randomness and confusion, I'm sure some of you were like "Where did that come from?" Well that is how Scion would feel since he never had any clue about Axle's intentions. If you think about the SEED series and think how the story would be like if you saw things from JUST Kira's point of view then you would understand Kira's feelings much better.

This is my objective, to tell you a story and show you what it is like from the view of these people and their view alone.

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**January 26, C.E. 71**

**On Route to Artemis, Following the Creuset team; 3:00 P.M.**

The ship carrying Scion and Yumi were currently on route to Artemis, they had lost track of the ZAFT vessels since they were able to get beyond the radar range of the their ship before they could catch up. They knew the destination though and took appropriate measures.

_**-Tap tap tap tap tap- **_

Yumi was typing quickly on her laptop, she seemed pressed to find something quickly. Through her contacts in with EA she was given a User Name and Password to get into the EA database as a recruiter, this gave her the power to look through all EA soldiers and personal.

"_Where is he?…Did he leave Halberton's fleet?" _Yumi thought frantically as she looked to a letter on her desk, a hand written one was very odd in this day and age. She then found the name she was looking for.

"_He was demoted for something classified…thank god. You're alive…Kaim Akita…thank god."_

Yumi picked up the letter and sighed deeply as she read it, she even smiled as she read it. Yumi read it three more times before carefully folding it back up and placing it in her briefcase and looking at the clock.

"Time to see Scion.." Yumi had decided to spend more time with the young pilot, finding herself becoming very attached to the broken man, though easily provoked when it came to the war. She knew that Scion put up a very strong front but he was really very fragile and she felt that she was in a better position to help him, since she was very aware that he had a thing for her.

She stood up and drifted to the door before pressing the button to cause it to slid open and let her out. She then took a left and drifted all the way down to the end of the hall before stopping at Scion's room. She thought about knocking but decided not to since Scion would often cover up his sulking if he knew she was coming, he was often brooding about the war.

_**-SHIIING- **_The door slid open and Yumi walked in to see that Scion was brooding but in one of his three ways. This was his most common, he had a headset on his head while laying on his back in bed and was playing music with his eyes covered with his arm, the music was obviously loud since Yumi could hear it from the door entrance.

She walked over to the younger man and looked down on him. She would wait until he realized she was there which never took long, he was pretty sharp. It was in these silent moments that Yumi took pity on Scion, he had seen more then anyone should have to see in such a short span of time. Not only that but he was made to carry an impossible task, and deep down she believed that Scion doubted he could accomplish anything that Takashi wanted him too…..and she didn't blame him either.

"….Why do you keep entering without knocking? It's called common courtesy." Scion complained as he noticed the shadow that was hovering over him which prompted him to move his arm from his eyes.

Yumi smiled, "Nice to see you too Scion." She went over and sat on the bunk on the other side of the room, the only room left for Scion after his crew transferred unto this ship was a double room meant for two people.

"What is this about now? You wanted to talk to me?" Scion asked.

"Heh, don't flatter yourself. You wanted to talk to me." She retorted with the truth.

"….Ugh. Fine, I was just hoping we could talk a bit. You've bee distant ever since you came to space, well not that I've seen you much but you get what I mean."

"I actually don't. We never talked that much to begin with Scion and we've seen each other almost every other day since I've been in space so that would be considered an increase."

"….Fair enough. I was just wondering if we could…errr…" Scion stopped himself as he begun to think of words, he often wished he had asked her out a LONG time ago before this all happened. No such luck though.

"You want to have a date in space? On a war ship, while fighting enemy forces? Doctor Takashi always told me you wanted to ask me out…" Yumi said way to calmly, as if she was holding that one back for sometime now waiting for the perfect time to let it loose.

To bad it left Scion scrambling for a response, or anything for that matter.

"I! Uh…well...I…I…uh….Yeah….." Scion finally said after feeling completely defeated by this older women. Yumi laughed softly which made Scion's face turn a light red from embarrassment.

"Well Scion, I don't know if we could have a date on a ship like this but we can chat over dinner or something if you--" She was interrupted by an announcement.

"**SCION KAZUMA! PLEASE REPORT TO THE LAUNCHING BAY. WE HAVE INTERCEPTED ONE OF THE ENEMY SHIPS!" **An announcement blared over the com. Finally a lead.

Scion quickly stood on his feet and looked at Yumi who nodded, "We can have our chat later. Go get them." Then the young pilot dashed out of the room and down the hallway to the launching bay, they were on the offensive.

"Scion, we have confirmed the Vesalius! The Gamow is not on radar which means it must have been destroyed of they separated. We are almost in firing distance and you will be launching soon. Please stay on stand-by." The Pilot Coordinator said.

"Roger…" Scion said as he clicked on the power to Revolution. It had been slightly modified for Scion's taste in battle, which was long to mid range fighting. The Shield was now mounted on his left are, instead of holding it like normal, and in the free hand was the full sized Anti-Armor shotgun that modeled after Scion's Anti-Armor Shotgun attachment for his rifle, meaning he had two guns that he could use at the same time. Now that he had the new gun he could stick with the bayonet attachment for his rifle. It was a good change for Scion.

"Scion prepare to launch! We are jamming their radar!"

"Right!"

**ZZZ-000 Revolution Gundam**

**Launching in…**

**3.…**

**2.…**

**1.…**

**LAUNCH!**

"Scion Kazuma, launching!"

_**-ZSSHHRRRRRBRRRAAA- The Engine fired to life and the Gundam was launched into space via a Linear Catapult.**_

"Scion, we have one mobile launching to engage….It's the AEGIS! Confirmed! ZAFT has the Aegis Gundam!"

"Roger! I'll take it out, but only one mobile suit? The rest must have been destroyed in the battle at Heliopolis…" Scion said as memories of Junius Seven came back to him along with the sight of Heliopolis. He would make the ZAFT forces pay for doing what the EA did more then almost a year ago.

"Not sure yet. Good luck though!"

"Right!" Scion then blasted toward the Aegis Gundam, ready to do battle.

The two Gundam's met at roughly the halfway point between the two approaching ships. They looked at one another, waiting for the other to make a move, that the wanted the other to make.

"Pilot of the unknown mobile suit. This is Athrun Zala of the Creuset Team. State your reasons for attacking us!"

Scion almost gagged, Athrun Zala? The boy that had lost his mother in the attack on Junius Seven? The boy that joined the military to defeat the evil Naturals for attacking the colony. The boy that stood before him because he helped the attack go along?

Scion then began to lose confidence, not in himself but in his attacking the Creuset Team. Could he fight against this young man who's involvement in the war was a direct effect of Scion's deeds? Scion never got to answer his question.

"Fine! If you won't speak then we have no choice but to fight against you!" The Aegis then began circling around Revolution while firing its beam rifle at it.

"Damn.." Scion said to himself as he put Revolution into reverse to avoid the fire of the enemy. They now circled around each other exchanging fire as the ZAFT ship came into firing range, the prototype ship wasn't an offensive ship and was playing defensively.

_**-BRZSHHHH-**_

_**-BRZSHHHH-**_

Beam fire slip by the two enemies without causing harm to the other, Scion not willing to harm Athrun because of a guilty conscious, and the with the funnels acting as back up thrusters Revolution was to quick to be hit. After a few more exchanges the Aegis discarded it's beam saber and charged at Scion who in return discarded both of his guns, the shotgun wasn't any use against the Phase-Shift Armor anyway and the rifle wouldn't be useful in close combat, and pulled his own beam saber.

"_Ugh…I have choice! I can't let my feeling get in the way. I can't let their lives be in vain!" _Scion's thoughts told him, too many people had died to give Scion a chance to make up for everything. As much as he hated the idea of killing Athrun when it was his fault for killing his mother... but he had no choice.

_**-SLASH-**_

_**-SWISH-**_

The two mobile suits clashed again and again, both playing it safe and not attempting to strike at the other until an opening appeared. Behind them the Vesalius entered combat with Yumi and the prototype ship. The Vesalius let loose its two **120cm high-energy beam cannon **but thankfully Scion's ship was fast enough to avoid the directness of the beams. The missiles that were launched next were intercepted by the Prototypes many anti-missile defenses.

Some distance away the mobile suits were still in the stalemate. The Aegis backed away to speak to the unknown enemy suit.

"Surrender! We won't destroy you if you surrender!" Athrun voice came over the pilots com.

"I can't do that! To many have died to give me this chance!" As soon as Scion spoke he regretted it, Athrun might be able to tell who he was.

"….Scion! Scion Kazuma! Is that you"!" Athrun called over the com.

"Tch….Sharp as always Zala…Yeah, it's me."

"I knew there was something odd about you! You traitor! You're just like Kira!"

"_Whoa…Kira? Who the heck is that?"_ Scion wondered in the back of his head, maybe someone he knew that has switched sides?

"How can you side with the Naturals!"

"Don't act like you know so much! I haven't sided with anyone! You….You still talk like you know everything!" Scion then charged forward at the Aegis.

"I have no choice then, Coordinator or not, I must destroy you!" The Aegis then transformed into its mobile armor form and fired off its **"Scylla" **multi-phase energy cannon. The large cannon burst trailed right at Scion who in the last second got out of the way with barely any room to spare.

"_Damn it…got too hasty. Stay calm." _Scion told himself.

"Fine! Then consider yourself my enemy too!" Scion then released the funnels and had them surround the Aegis.

"What!" Athrun responded, surprised at this new development, "Commander, I don't think this machine is a EA mobile suit."

Scion gave a raised eyebrow as he heard Athrun speak to his flagship, of course he couldn't hear what the response was since it was over a secure frequency. He decided to take the initiative.

"Yes, sir. It would take to much power to run those remote weapons with the phase-shift...understood." Athrun said while speaking to Rau no doubt.

"Don't drop your guard!" Scion yelled as his funnels began firing one at a time to put up a constant barrage of fire on the Aegis who quickly reverted to it's mobile suit form to take advantage of the greater maneuverability. It was quickly began to retreat to the Vesalius.

"No, you don't!" Scion yelled as he chased after the Aegis. Just then the Vesalius fired its main cannons again used the Aegis to hide it, Scion easily dodged it but then he found that the target was his support ship, thankfully they too dodged the blast.

Then another blast came from another direction and hit the rear of Scion's ship. Scion looked to the point of origin and saw that it was the Aegis, once again in it's MA form. Scion slammed his fist down on the control panel before he was contacted by Rau Le Creuset himself.

"We are currently under orders to return to the PLANTS as soon as possible. We will leave you in peace if you will withdraw, otherwise we will fire again."

Now this made no sense to Scion. Why didn't he just destroy the ship then Scion? What game was Creuset playing? Scion, with all his reading on strategy, didn't see any good reason to do this.

…But he didn't have a choice, he had to take it.

"…Fine… I'm pulling back, Yumi!." Scion then called in the funnels and shot back to the ship, before boarding he looked back at the Vesalius and watched it go. Two things occurred to Scion that day, one was that with these new mobile suits Scion no longer held the advantage and battle would become more difficult, and two was that Creuset had to be killed…and soon.

**The Unnamed Prototype Ship, 6:00 P.M.**

Things were bad for the crew, the engine was damaged and would soon be dead, they thought that could make it to Artemis but after that they would be sitting ducks. Good thing for them that the battle had actually be going in the direction of the space fortress so they were still on track and making good time. Scion, though, was in a foul mood with everything that had happened in the day. The damage to the ship, Athrun's appearance, and Creuset's truce…It all made him angry.

The crew was still heading to Artemis because Creuset said that they were returning to the PLANTS for a mission which mean the Gamow might still be chasing that new ship and that meant the new ship might still be around.

It was good enough reason to keep going as far as the crew was concerned. The crew though was depleted because of the explosion close to the fuel reserves and many lost their lives in the explosion and in trying to put it out. It was a total mess. It wouldn't be long though before they reached Artemis.

0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**January 27, C.E. 71**

**The Unnamed Prototype Ship, 3:00 P.M.**

Scion was in the bridge looking for Artemis that should soon becoming into view, and it did. At first it looked very normal before the explosions started happening. It started at one point then spread to another and before Scion even knew it, Artemis was under attack. Everyone looked at each other for some sort of explanation. It came.

"Confirmation! We have the Gamow! It's on the far side of Artemis, they've launched two mobile suits…Buster and Duel! The explosions are being caused by …The Blitz! We do not see the Strike anywhere on radar! ZAFT has the Duel, Buster, and Blitz!" The radar tech said calmly but rapidly.

"Okay! Battle stations! I don't think I need to tell you that with our engines shot this may be our last battle. I just want to say that I am proud to be your captain! Scion, launch immediately. We'll try to avoid enemy attacks until you return!"

Scion nodded to the brave captain, everyone else had stood and saluted him before going back to work. Scion to had a job, and he was speeding down the halls, or flying since there was no gravity. He had to protect this ship by destroying those three mobile suits…or die trying.

This would be the first official battle of Scion's war, the Beginning of Everything.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Okay, so long time no update and this chapter is short, I don't normally do long chapters since everything get cluttered. It was why I seperated the first chaptered into two parts. Plus, some parts are just good stopping points and should be used as such. 

Anyway, nothing to special about this chapter, a few plots start to develop and some interaction goes on but this chapter is really just a setting up for the next with has a lot of dialogue and so on. Will Shigen help the Archangel? Or will he fight against it? Who knows, well I do.

Also, doing the battles of the mobile suits is pretty hard :P, trying to give it meaning while not making it boring. Meh, I'll get better as I go on. And again, forgive any typos and such.

Enjoy,

-Arcaner.


	14. A Change in Destiny

**Chapter 9: A Change of Destiny**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

_**Author's Notes: **_

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**January 26, C.E. 71**

**Artemis Space; 3:00 P.M**

Scion approached the huge fortress that seemed to be having quite the fiasco going on. The Buster and Dual were tearing up the outside of it and Scion could only assume the Blitz was on the inside. Scion wouldn't reach the Dual and Buster in time, they would enter the fortress ahead of him. Not only that but the Fortress seemed to be falling apart and moving inside it would be suicidal.

"Urgh…Yumi, Artemis is falling apart. The prototypes are in the fortress. I can't go on. I'm going to try and find the ship, I want you to get away from the fortress anyway you can."

" Understood, we'll prep the escape pods for use. Try to find the ship, though, Scion. It might still be around if the Prototypes are around!" Came the females reply.

Scion began flying here and there, to find the dock where the ship would have to be. It would have to be there. He flew closer to what appeared to be the dock, coming up to it from the bottom, when a white ship flew over him. He stared at the bottom of a strange legged-ship which Scion could only assume was the Archangel, the new battleship.

Scion, in a moment of half calculated thinking anchored his mobile suit to the bottom of the ship, using the magnetic powers that the funnels used to form his shield and shut down his mobile suit, keeping his basic reserves to power the magnetic pull. With his suit off he wouldn't, or shouldn't, appear on radar since he was just a floating hunk of metal.

With that down Scion was unsure of what to do. The ship was safe and even though he found it he was in a pickle. He decided to gamble on two things, one the ship had only the Strike to defend itself, assuming it was still in their hands and not in Zaft...and assuming it was not destroyed, and two the forces pursuing it had the others. Scion drew up a very vague plan that would possible save his crew and put him in a position to find out what the hell was going on. His choice was made.

One thing was certain, he couldn't destroy this ship or the mobile suit inside. It would put things in the favor of ZAFT and it already had three of the five machines, actually it had four of them counting Aegis. With a heavy sigh he activated his plan. First he powered up his machine, which sent the ship into a panic with an unknown mobile just appearing under it. Next he swung up and in front of the ship, slowing its advance.

Everything was still in that moment and Scion with a big breath of air opened contacts with the new ship.

"EA prototype battleship, Archangel. This is Scion Kazuma….mercenary pilot. I wish to speak with the commanding officer." It was simple and brief but he thought he sounded serious enough to be taken as such.

"I am the commanding officer, Murrue Ramius, state your business." It was a young female commander and Scion wondered why all these women were so demanding.

"My ship has been damaged close by, we have no way of travel and are stranded. I want you to take them aboard and care for them and in exchange…..this mobile suit and I will fight for this ship free of charge, until you reach your destination. I saw your recent battle and I know what you are running from…I know you need this assistance and I can help you as long as you give my crewmen a place to stay."

Scion could feel the sweat forming on his face and neck, he was honestly hoping they would take the bargain. His crew was in dire need and he wanted to protect the ship now, until a better option came up. He needed to make sure the EA could use the Prototypes, now that the ZAFT forces had them as well. But what an absurd plan! It was so outrageous that Scion was almost ready for them to open fire on him and blow him to kingdom come.

There was no visual feed so he could see nothing, the voice link had been killed as well. They were thinking it over.

"I will accept this on one condition, you are to leave that mobile suit until your men are taken in. In that case you will be allowed to dock." The commander stated.

"Captain! This is against protocol!" Another female who was out of view cried out.

"Ensign Badgiruel! We are in no position to turn down a helpless people, and certainly not when they are offering help of this kind." She turned to Scion, or faced the video feed, and waited for Scion to respond, who was struck dumb...they were accepting the deal!

Instead of speaking he simply opened a com to Yumi, letting it so that the Archangel could hear.

"Yumi, send those escape pods to my coordinates. You and the crew will be staying with the Archangel. I will offer them protection in return for your safety." He knew Yumi was smart enough to not blow his cover. He hoped anyway.

"Roger. We'll load the men and all the materials we can muster. It shouldn't take that long." Scion was right about Yumi but he could tell by her tone that she was not overly pleased.

Scion shut down Revolution and then was kept under guard by the Strike, who had re-launched just for that purpose. The crew eventually was retrieved and they were all gathered together in one place while Scion was escorted in by the Strike. Once Revolution had been docked Scion was able to breath easy, they weren't going to die a slow death anyway, or so he could hope.

**January 26, C.E. 71**

**Archangel, Hangar Bay; 4:30 P.M**

Scion got to ground level and was met with a number of armed men. He was urged to gather with the rest of the mechanics. Scion looked at the scene through his pilots helmet and sighed inwardly. Finally, two females and a male came to the scene and took command.

"All of you will be assigned quarters, the captain of the ship and mobile suit pilot are to meet in my office for a meeting." The female called Murrue Ramius ordered. Yumi and Scion, were then shown to those quarters promptly, without the ability to do assess anything of their situation. Scion didn't even have a chance to chance into normal clothes.

They, Scion and Yumi, were put in chairs and sat in front of an empty desk while they waited.

"Scion, I don't approve of this. This was not something we thought of as an option." Yumi said bitterly.

"A lot of things happened that I didn't think would, like that other unknown mobile suit." Scion retorted before going on, "Besides, we need to even the war out….not make ZAFT the most powerful. We need the help anyway, so don't complain and play along…let me talk when it comes to the Mobile Suit." Scion was barely able to get the words out before Ramius, Badgiruel, and the male from before stepped in The Captain took her seat behind her desk while the other two leaned against opposite walls on the far side.

"Welcome to the Archangel, as I stated before, I am Murrue Ramius. I have a few questions I would like to ask."

The two didn't respond.

"Well then, we would first like to know how you knew about the G-weapons." The captain seemed a bit unsure of them, she gave her two aids a skeptical look.

"I have connections in high places. You could say we were….important." Yumi suddenly said before Scion could try and say anything.

"Explain yourself." The Ensign barked suddenly. The Captain shot her glance but turned to see what their reply would be. The male simply shook his head with a slight smile on his face.

"I'm not allowed, we are mercenaries, hired for a job. The current job has been terminated and replaced with what we offered you. We cannot betray any details." Yumi again clarified.

"Well, what about that mobile suit?" The male asked, deciding to make his presence known, "And why don't you take that helmet off and let us get a look at you." He questioned toward Scion, who had forgotten he had it on.

Scion reached up and removed his helmet and like he expected, they were shocked, but he got the feeling I wasn't so much his eyes but rather something else. He couldn't guess what though.

"What kind of kids are being born today?" The male said in disbelief, giving Scion reason to believe it was his age that they were startled with.

_**-Cough- **_"Well, as to your question. We are not under obligation to share that information with you. Like I said, I have connections and we were, until at this time, under another agenda. I can't disclose any information and I would ask you to let only our Mechanics deal with the repairs on that machine, they will not bother your men, we owe you our lives and it will not be betrayed." Yumi once more answered the question and somehow Scion felt like he was just an eye sore.

The captain sighed in defeat, obviously too tired to continue the struggle. She stood up and put her hands on her desk so she could lean forward. Whatever this ship was going through it must have been one hell of an ordeal for a captain to be considering this and one could see she was very unsure of her own actions.

"Very well. We will accept your help, but you will follow our orders. Oh, and please, introduce yourselves."

The two stood with the captain and finally Scion got the jump on things.

"Scion Kazuma, ma'am."

"Yumi Akechi."

The captain nodded and they were dismissed, or more specifically they were taken away. After being taken down to their quarters they were left to their own devices. Scion decided to go back up to the food deck and see what was around, and get some food.

" Hey! I was looking for you." A cheery voice came from the elevator as the doors slide open. It was the blonde haired man. Scion looked at his cautiously as he stepped into the elevator with the man. They stood side by side as the elevator rose.

"I was wondering something…." the man asked sheepishly while he rubbed the back of his head.

"You should start with your name first, eh?" Scion asked.

"Mu La Flaga."

If Scion hadn't been in null gravity he would have fallen face first to the ground, Mu La Flaga was a known hero, he had even seen him while on the Moon Base, before he had become famous though. What was the Hawk doing here?

"I was wondering where you came from…" Mu asked as he looked forward.

"The Colonies. Though I don't see why that's important." Scion answered.

"Do you have hate Coordinators?"

"In another life."

"Good."

The Elevator opened up and Scion stepped out as Mu did. They walked the hall together with Mu as he tried to dive further into his person, but was stopped by a defensive Scion. Before they reached the lunch room Mu stopped Scion.

"I hope you don't have anything against Coordinators, it will make things stressed." Mu advised before retreating. Leaving Scion with a big question mark in his head.

"_Obviously….a coordinator is on the ship somewhere."_ Scion assumed.

Walking into the lunch room he saw two individuals. A blonde haired boy with shades and a red haired girl. The male was in uniform and the female was in a pink dress. They looked at him, the male stood.

"This room is for the crew. Civilians are allowed in only during specific times." He said.

"Yeah, I'm not a civilian. I'm your new muscle, the merc." Scion said, feeling slightly inflated with his words.

"You're…you're the pilot of that mobile suit?" The blonde asked, a bit thrown off.

"So, you must be a Coordinator too." The female piped up and looked at Scion with a mild look of distaste.

"No, I was born in the colonies, far from PLANT. I'm Scion Kazuma, you?" Scion tried to turn the subject from his past to the now.

"I'm Sai, this is Flay. Sorry about her, she didn't mean anything by that." Sai greeted Scion.

"I just assumed that he was, Sai! Only Kira could pilot that other mobile suit so it only made sense." She retorted, Scion sweat dropped as he listened to the obviously spoiled girl. Sai took a deep breath before looking to Scion.

"We have a coordinator who pilots the Strike. He's Kira Yamato, so if you don't like Coordinators then just leave him alone. He has it rough as it is." Sai said.

Scion nodded and went to get something to eat, when he returned the two were gone. Scion sat down and began to slowly shovel food into his mouth. He thought about the conversation and in a flash of lightning it dawned on him and he spat out the mashed potatoes that were in his mouth.

"Kira! Kira Yamato?" Scion said mildly.

"_That was the guy Athurn was talking about…the traitor."_

Scion looked over towards the kitchen entrance and put another spoonful of mashed potatoes in his mouth.

"What were the chances of that…" He mumbled to himself with a mouth full of food. Come to think of it, Scion began to wonder why he was surprised about anything anymore.

The rest of the day went by without any hint of trouble. Yumi and Scion met that day and talked about the events that had occurred. Obviously this ship was in a very bad position, considering how easily they accepted Scion's offer of help. They must have been on the edge of defeat numerous times.

It was finally decided to use this ship as a staging point to strike at the other prototypes and destroy them. They were far too dangerous in the hands of ZAFT. What they would do after that, concerning the Strike and the Archangel would have to wait.

Scion made constant rounds about the ship, talking to the crew and finding they were all wary of him but didn't seem to want to make him angry in anyway, probably because they all knew they needed the help. More importantly to Scion was this pilot, Kira Yamato, who he could not find. He was always somewhere other then where Scion was. After awhile Scion gave up his search and returned to his quarters later that day.

"Scion?" Yumi called from the outside of Scion's quarters. A beep went off and the door slid open to allow her in.

"Yumi, what is it?" Scion asked quickly.

"It's not a battle but the commander of this ship would like you to go into the debris belt and help re-supply the ship by pulling in anything they ask."

"…..I can't. Not that place.." Scion retorted calmly.

"Scion, I understand your situation but--"

"Don't, just don't. You don't know know, you don't understand, and I won't go out there."

"You're just running from it. Fine, don't go and stay in here like a coward. I'll be in my quarters." She cut back at Scion before exiting calmly.

When the group all departed to get the water, Scion wasn't with them.

**January 27, C.E. 71**

**Archangel, Hangar; 5:00 P.M**

Scion entered the hangar to see this escape pod that was brought in. Everyone must have had the same thought in their mind, was it from the actual attack? If not then what was it doing there? Scion was a considerable distance from the main group and decided to keep it that way. There was several gunmen, a few of the young students gone soldiers and two or three engineers.

The hatch opened and instantly a pink robotic ball came floating out with a roaring 'Hello!' And Scion's heart sank.

"_No...it…it couldn't be her…." _Scion thought to himself as he suddenly got into a better position to see and sure enough, moments later, Lacus Clyne made her way out of the pod. In reaction, Scion made sure he was hidden from view.

"_You've got to be kidding me! She could blow everything!" _Scion's head was scrambling as he turned his head away from the group as the pink haired girl was caught by a brown haired boy Scion hadn't met. He retreated to the corridors, he'd have to talk to her one on one before she accidentally saw him and let something slip.

After a moment Scion turned to see that door to the hangar slide open and the pink haired girl escorted through it. Scion turned quickly and made a detour down the nearest hall that he could find. With a sigh of relief as they passed he took to follow them to see where they were going to keep Ms. Clyne for the time being.

They took her to an empty room where Lacus, the commander, her second, and Flaga went in. Almost instantly afterwards a group of the crew crowded around the door to try and hear what was going on. Scion ended up standing behind the boy that had caught Lacus from drifting around the hangar.

The door slid open and the Ensign, a female with a very hard locked face. She came out and told them all to get back to work, sending them scattering down the hall. The women stepped forward to make sure they were on their way and Scion came face to face with Lacus who waved at him and the man next to him. They looked at each other before turning away.

"So…what do you think?" Scion asked, trying to make conversation.

"Uh…I don't know." The man answered. He seemed occupied with his own thoughts as he headed towards the hangar. Scion turned down another route to double back around so he could speak to Lacus.

It took several minutes but finally Scion saw the trio leave and Scion went up to the door, and oddly enough, found it open. The door slid open and he walked in to a rather beaming Ms. Clyne.

"Oh! Mr. Kazuma! I thought I recognized you." The girl greeted.

"Shhh! Lacus, you can't go around acting like you know me. It will blow my cover if they know I've been to PLANT's they will think I'm connected to ZAFT."

"Oh my, I didn't think about that. Perhaps you could just explain to them--"

"No….I'd rather avoid that all together. We need to act like we just met or something."

"Oh, I see. Well then, Hello there, I'm Lacus Clyne. What is your name?" Lacus said, playing along with the idea a bit too literally.

"Uh….Scion Kazuma. Nice to meet you…."

It went on for a while like that, with both of them having idol chat that really went no where in the end. Just…talk. The conversation ended with Lacus wanted to get something to eat, and her not knowing the way, Scion decided to show her the way, completely unthinking that she may have been detained to her quarters.

They came to the kitchen to find a ready argument going on, Flay was argueing with a blonde haired girl Scion knew to be named M….something. He couldn't put his finger on it but would remember it later he was sure.

"What is she's really strong, right!" Flay could be heard saying as Scion and Lacus walked through the kitchen door. Lacus got to speak before anyone else did, or before they could.

"My…who's really strong?" She said, causing everyone to turn with shock on their face, as if she was some monster. Scion, stood behind her slightly to her left and looked at the group with is own look, one of embarrassment for not thinking that Lacus shouldn't have left her room earlier. Big mistake on his part.

"Ah, I'm sorry if I surprised you. I got thirsty. And please don't laugh at me, but I'm very hungry as well." Lacus continued as she moved away from Scion, following the wall to avoid going through the group."

"Hold on a second!" The brown haired boy said, as another boy with strange blue hair raised his hand as if to stop her.

"They didn't lock your door?" He, Kuzzey, said in disbelief.

"I don't understand! Why is a ZAFT girl walking around without permission!" Flay interjection as she put one of her hands to her cheek, she seemed scared of the almost angel looking girl.

"Uh…that was me. I let her out, her door was unlocked anyway. She wanted something to eat and rather then have her roam around I brought her here to get something then to take her back to her room."

They all then looked at Scion as if HE was the crazy one now. Flay seemed ready to say something to him but Lacus beat her to the punch.

"Don't be upset with Mr. Kazuma, he was only trying to be nice. I came out without permission. I'm very sorry." She bowed in apology and gave a sincere smile.

"Also, I don't belong to ZAFT. ZAFT is just the army, it stands for…"

"You're all the same, you're all coordinators! I can't believe YOU let her out without permission. You are just here to fight!" Flay yelled at Lacus before turning her last words back on Scion.

Scion stepped fully into the kitchen with the feeling of a headache coming on. This was turning into some mess, that was for sure. But he couldn't help but like the atmosphere, not the hate but the chaos. It reminded him of his old days in the EA military. But, he pushed them aside, knowing what those days led too.

"We are not the same?" Lacus curtly answered, "I am not military personnel. You don't appear to be as such either, so we are the same. My name is..--" Lacus extended her hand for a shake only to have Flay back away as if it were some sick thing.

"I don't want it, stop it! This is utter nonsense, why do I have to shake your hand? You're a coordinator don't act like we can be friends!"

The whole room took on a different tone then. Kuzzey seemed shocked along with Miriallia, who's named he finally remembered. The other boy, with brown hair, seemed insulted or shocked for whatever reason.

Scion, was not pleased to say the least.

"That's enough, no more. Miriallia, give me that food." Scion walked past the two boys and took the food, turned and gave it to the boy with brown hair, who he still had not gotten a name for.

"Take that to her room, and escort her back."

The boy nodded and soon the room was left with only Scion, Flay, Kuzzey, and Miriallia in it. Scion walked up to Flay and said very bluntly.

"Despite what you may say, despite what differences Coordinators and Naturals have, the only monster I see here is a little girl in a pink dress." With that, the new to the business mercenary left.

Though the remainder of the day Scion and Yumi were able to peace together the ships situation. All four mobile suits, Aegis, Blitz, Buster, and Duel were taken by ZAFT and were being used to destroy the Archangel and the Strike. The ship was also undermanned which explained why so many young people were being used to operate the ships open positions.

But more so was the ships military capabilities. While the ships weapons were powerful it had only the Strike piloted by a pilot with absolutely no experience, even if he was a Coordinator the experience lack would be obvious, and the ship used by Flaga which didn't compare with the Prototypes.

In the end the choice seemed to simply come down to the need for professional help and, most likely, the ship wanted Scion's mobile suit on their side for protection and perhaps to find out where it came from. So it was concluded that the ship was fulfilling their agenda and perhaps the EA's.

But, in the end, Scion just shrugged and said it was a stroke of luck that they were in such bad shape. Because just like they were using him….so could he use them.

Scion blamed it on fate, saying that the gods sometimes like to...change peoples destinies...

* * *

Author's Notes: Okay...so, I have to apologize to everyone for being gone for so long. I had a string of family deaths and after the first of them I just didn't feel like writing anymore. Then the others kept me away longer. 

But thanks to a friend I got back into the game and my interest for the series was peaked again. So I finished this chapter and I am on my way once more!

This is the first chapter into the actual series, so it means I have to do a lot more research to see how things will change when I divert them from the original series. I think, that most of the changes will be small, except for a few key things I may decide to twist for plot reasons. But, normally I'll simply tie Scion into the story and make it all neat and tidy.

So, sorry about the wait and I hope everyone enjoys this, new comers and old reviewers. Note, I'm still a bit rusty so excuse typos, sometimes word does not help a writer at all. So enjoy this latest installment!

-Arc


	15. A Lesson Long Coming

**Chapter 10: A Lesson Long Coming**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

_**Author's Notes: **_

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**January 28, C.E. 71**

**Archangel; 12:00 P.M.**

It buzzed throughout the entire ship, the advance party was being sent out from the eighth fleet to escort the Archangel to safety. Yumi and Scion found that it was a bad turn off events, it meant the ship would have ample protection but….ZAFT had four of the five prototypes which meant they could, if they committed to an attack, defeat the fleet with less then a little luck. The Mobile armors were just not match for the abilities of the prototypes, G-weapon, whatever.

Still, Scion was persistent in playing it out until the very end. He had a feeling so to speak and he had to go with his gut, since he couldn't get off the ship if he wanted too.

Scion spent the early morning in his machine, working on the OS for Revolution, or so he said, he was actually hoping to see this Kira Yamato again, no luck. It was afternoon, by earth time, when the alert came.

"**La Flaga, Kira Yamato, and Scion Kazuma report to the docking bay! Prepare to scramble!" **The level one battle alert sounded.

Scion opened his eyes and removed his headset, he jumped up and after pulling on a shirt of his white tee, he took off towards the hangar bay. He turned a corner to see Lacus looking down the hall, as if she were watching someone who just passed. She turned at the sound of his foot steps and gave a smile.

"Mr. Kazuma, are you going to be fighting as well?"

"Yeah, I'm hired help." Scion said as he jogged in place, not thinking that he should really get moving.

"I see. Do look out for Mr. Yamato, he is a really nice young man. I wouldn't want to see anyone die."

"Uh, right. I'll do my best Lacus, you should stay in your room though. Got to go, wish us luck!" Scion called for luck over his shoulder, he started running ahead after telling her to stay in her room. He waved and then went full speed to the hangar.

Scion's luck didn't hold though. As he turned a corner he ran smack into Flay. He rebounded a bit as they hit each other, his reflexes were to grab her and stable her as his back hit the wall that was behind him. The two floated there for a moment as the shock held their minds.

"Uh, sorry. I should have paid more attention." Scion apologized.

"My dad is out there. You'll protect him right?" She suddenly asked, as if she was unsure of herself or something else.

"If he's on those EA ships, then yeah. I give you my word." Scion promised, putting his word on the life. No one else would die on his watch…not anymore.

The girl, somehow seemed more assured now. As if his words weighed more then what was on her mind. She nodded and pushed herself away from Scion, freeing up his path.

"I well better now, with a Natural telling me this. I trust Kira….but…" Flay stopped herself before bowing in midair, apologizing for the remark. Scion smiled and put a hand on her shoulder.

"Coordinator or Natural, their word is still the same. Don't doubt our word until we are proven false."

She, smiled and nodded before waving Scion off. Her mood became a rather calm and up mood. She seemed to not be worried anymore. Good.

**Archangel, Hangar; 12:40 P.M.**

"Hey, you're late!" The chief mechanic of the EA ship called out. His name was Murdoc..or something.

"Sorry, I got a bit turned out in the ship. I'm the last to launch?" Scion questioned.

"Yeah, the kid just left. You better get out there and keep your end of the deal."

"No problem. I need you guys too, you know?" Scion closed Revolution's hatch and stepped unto the launching bay.

"Ready to launch?" The blonde haired Pilot Coordinator asked.

"Yeah, Lets go.."

"**3..."**

"**2..."**

"**1..."**

"Scion Kazuma, launching!"

The catapult thrust Scion into deep space. He was trailing behind the Strike and Zero, but he was gaining thanks to his increased speed from the funnels. He soon fell into step with the other two. The com came on instantly with Flaga appearing in Scion's right monitor, Yamato in his left.

"I heard from Kira that you two haven't really talked to each other. Well, get the introductions out of the way so we can start this thing." His face then flicked off.

"Heh, nice guy. Well Mr. Yamato, I'm Scion Kazuma."

"Uh, yeah. Just call me Kira. We met twice before."

"Huh? When?"

"In the lunchroom and outside of Ms. Clyne's room."

"That was you! I never did get your name. Well, we can talk more later. Lets worry about saving those ships. Good luck, Yam…..Kira."

"Thanks, you too Scion."

Then Scion split off from Kira, on their own separate warpaths. Scion sat up in his chair and turned to the first blip on his screen. The Aegis was coming his way. Scion turned his attention to it before Kira came into the picture and engaged him, the Aegis giving his full attention to him as well.

"Traitor huh? Well, Mr. Yamato. I appears we are both traitors to our people. You and Zala…are just like me and Axle…" Scion said to himself before he turned his machine around and blasted off in the direction of the EA advance fleet. He promised that slightly paranoid girl that he'd save those ships and her father.

"Scion! Scion can you hear me?" Yumi's voice rang out in Scion's cockpit.

"Yeah, what is wrong!"

"Don't use the funnels, leave them inactivated."

"What? Why!"

"The engineers were installing new software to make compatibility with the Psycho-Frame easier, it hasn't finished installing and the funnels could go erratic."

"You've got to be kidding me! Yumi, why wasn't I told!"

"The Archangel crew told them they would tell you, but never…got to it." She said with a hit of bitterness, "Either way, just keep them under wraps for now."

"Ugh, brilliant."

At that exact time Scion passed a retreating Flaga who had been damaged by an enemy Ginn. Scion went on a hunt for the last two of the enemy mobile suits. It was attacking the last of the EA's ships. Scion raised his rifle and got a shot off, alerting the enemy mech of his presence., while shooting down the other who wasn't expecting the Archangel to have an extra hand on board.

The Ginn turned its head and fired a round and Scion, out of instinct, raised his arm to focus the funnels, not purposely but out of habit. The funnels came up and shot down the enemy missile from its **M66 Canis short-range guided missile launcher. ** Scion let out a held breath, happy that the funnels didn't blow up or anything.

They did worse.

Suddenly they began to fly in erratic directions and odd formations. They fired at everything, Scion, the Ginn, and the EA ship. They were, like Yumi warned, not combat ready. It was the worst thing that could happen to a pilot in combat, bad communication of Pilot and Mechanic and machine malfunction. It didn't happen often but when it did it was random, unexpected, and completely disruptive. It destroyed anything that the pilot had planned as far as battle.

"NO! I Got to get that Ginn before it takes advantage of this!" Scion pressed his machine forward, wanting to rid himself of the enemy first.

The Ginn pulled back but couldn't escape Revolutions superior speed. Scion fired his rifle several times in a panic and missed each time, his cool blown by his funnels behavior. Suddenly a purple beam pierced the mech and destroyed it, luck had provided one of his insane funnels with the shot that did it in.

That left only the funnels. Scion pulled down his keyboard and began typing madly, to shut them down manually by sending out a signal. He had never had to do this before and had to create the program from scratch. He typed relentlessly, coding and deleting what didn't work. Back and forth across the screen in a mad attempt to fix the mistake he had accidentally made. He was racing against the clock , that EA ship still needed protecting. The faster he typed the longer it seemed to take him, slowing down didn't help either.

"_Come on…come on…come on! I won't let anyone else die because of my failing...not like this! Not when I promised!"_

He slammed the enter key in and waited. A green light came on and the funnels all returned to their starting positions but were completely cut off from the P-Frame and were dormant. Scion turned and raced to the EA flag ship that was still left.

"There are okay…good." Scion gave a breath of relief before his radar picked up the ZAFT Flagship, he turned and saw that its main guns were charging. The pilots eyes opened wide and zoomed off toward the EA ship. What he was planning to do was beyond him now. He just knew he'd rather die with them then watch them die.

Fate was not kind to Scion that day. Without his funnels to add to his speed, Revolution could not make it in time. With half of its speed gone Scion got within firing range of the Flag ship before it was punctured by the ZAFT guns and exploded in a flash.

Scion sit stunned. He balled his hands together before raising his right fist and slamming it down on his leg. He repeated this over and over again until his attention was turned to the enemy battle ship, who was advancing on the Archangel.

"You…I'll get you!" Scion said before storming off after the battleship.

Suddenly the cock-pit when black, as if the machine was dead. Scion jerked his head around and tried to reactivate but nothing happened. He could feel that he was still moving but that was all. He struggled with the controls more, wondering why his machine wasn't responding! Why!

"What's going on!"

**Archangel, Yumi's quarters; 11:40 P.M.**

"Damn it! Why!" Scion yelled as he slammed his fist into the wall while he stared at Yumi with hate filled eyes.

"Because, your suit was at half of its combat abilities and we were in trouble. The Strike was going to run out of power soon, Flaga was damaged, AND the Gamow with the other prototypes were coming. We needed you in alive and that suit intact. Everything worked out in the end."

"What! We used Lacus Clyne to make the enemy withdraw! That worked everything out! Yumi…I..you…Argh!" Scion turned around and hit the wall again.

Evidently the Revolution was built with a fail-safe that allowed it to be controlled from short distances by remote-control, though only Yumi had that power. It was to be used incase the Revolution was captured by the wrong people. Yumi used that to bring the Revolution back to the Archangel, she was just lucky that there were no enemies around since all combat functions are useless by remote.

After Scion had returned the ZAFT force was called off by the threat of killing Lacus Clyne. It didn't seem to work at first but eventually the enemy left the Archangel in peace. Scion heard about this from Yumi and it did little to help his mood.

Without saying anything to Yumi, Scion left. He paraded around the ship until he heard crying, he stopped and listened to it from down the hall. He walked slowly towards the source, fearing what…who it was. His eyes widened and he followed Kira as he ran from the room and to a lift, the truth being slammed into his face.

It was Flay.

Scion watched Kira leave as he stopped just before the doors opening. He looked down at the ground before cautiously stepping into the room with a sobbing Flay clutching Sai, and Sai holding her. Scion put his foot forward and drew it back.

It was one thing to fail, that wasn't new, but to deal with the person he had failed, _that_ was new. He finally did take that step in and as if Flay could sense him she jerked her head up from Sai and her eyes were almost instantly on him.

"You promised!" She screeched. Sai tried to calm her but she was in a frenzy, almost violent.

"…I.."

"Sorry! That won't bring my dad back!" She continued to yell.

Scion tried to reach for words, something, anything! But he couldn't do anything. The only thing that came up was 'Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry' always, always, sorry. As if that was the only word Scion could think of.

Scion now found himself shedding his own tears, it all seemed to just be one big joke. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how hard he fought, he couldn't protect anyone but himself. Only himself. He fell to his knees and then went on his hands, his head bowed low in front of Flay.

"I'm sorry!"

The whole room seemed to stay still, even Flay went silent as a result of the sudden gesture. Everyone, Sai, Flay, and Miriallia watched him.

"I swear, I swear on this life of mine. I swear I'll never make a promise I can't keep! I swear I'll make up this lose of yours ten times over! I swear…I swear I will never fail again and come back alive!" His tears hit the ground in rapid and heavy bouts of rain.

And as quickly as Scion had entered and made his oath, he returned to his feet and fled from the room. He ran as far from the room as he could before he found himself wandering aimlessly. With no real destination in mind.

He went on for a few hours, thinking silently to himself, promising again and reconfirming his oath to himself. He needed to make himself understand the promise he had made. But also, he realized that things had changed. He could no longer simply destroy this ship like he had originally planned. He made an oath of protection. Scion felt Doc would have wanted him to keep it. He could find another way to even the odds.

**Archangel, Halls; 4:20 A.M.**

Scion couldn't bring himself to sleep, so after a bout with sleep he went back to wondering. It was early morning, as far as Earth times went, and most of the civilians were sleeping along with half the crew. He wandered around until he was walking through the hall where Kira's room was. The door slid open before Scion could see it within his complete view. What he did see was Kira hurrying from his room. The look on Kira's face made Scion follow. Something was amiss.

He chased the young, well not so much younger then him, coordinator to the quarters of Lacus Clyne. He stepped in and this prompted Scion to hide on a hunch and sure enough the boy soon left with the ZAFT pop star. Things were quickly become complicated, was Kira going to…kidnap her? Return her to ZAFT? Or was it something along the lines of bad morality?

Scion could rule out the last option, Kira wasn't that kind of person or at least he could assume from his experience with him. The first option couldn't be right either, the Strike couldn't run long enough to make a kidnapping. But he hoped that Kira wasn't going to return her to ZAFT, that wouldn't make much sense…but she was a coordinator and Athurn…he was his best friend. Could Kira be betraying the Archangel?

Kira moved quickly, dragging Lacus with him as he went. Scion stopped himself to see Kira stopped by Mir and Sai, who after exchanging words outside of Scion's hearing, all went towards the hangar. They all traveled to the pilot quarters, to have Kira suit up and Lacus get a spacesuit, most likely.

Kira and Lacus disappeared into the locker room. Scion, as far as he was concerned, had enough information to know that Kira was going to at least leave the Archangel with Lacus. Scion couldn't let that happen, as much as he hated it….Lacus was the only defense they had. His machine was still being fixed with the new funnel system and at this point it looked like Kira was going to betray them all.

Scion wasn't going to let that happen.

He pulled up the back of his shirt and pulled out a gun, ironically, the same one he shot Axle with, from his holster and quickly closed in on the two students. Scion was a lot quicker then naturals so by the time they noticed him, since he propelled himself through space, he had a gun pointed at them.

"Yell and I shoot." He told them, gaining their cooperation.

Scion floated by them and stood in front of the door to the hangar, blocking it completely. He kept the gun on the two kids and Sai stepped forward and opened his mouth to speak.

"Save it, I'll talk to only one person right now. Keep your mouth shut." Scion commanded.

The door opened and Kira came out, holding Lacus's hand, only to find that things were no longer safe. Kira instinctively put Lacus behind him.

"So, Kira. What are you planning to do with Ms. Clyne?" He questioned rapidly, to stop Lacus from getting the up on him.

"Because….because its wrong of us to use her like this!" Kira stated, defending his actions.

"And that makes it right! You could get everyone on this ship killed, do you realize that!" Scion barked back.

"…I know…but I can't just stand by and let this continue." Kira, stated again, it was obvious that Kira had really thought this through very, very little.

"So, you'd risk an entire ship all for the sake of one girl. Is that it? You'd put one life above all others?"

"No! I'm not doing that! I just can't fight if we have to use innocent people as shields!"

Silence fell on the group of kids, and kids they were. Scion could only look at Kira and shake his head. Kira was so…so like himself, not personality wise, but so naïve. Or at least, Scion had been naïve…in another life.

"Kira…I'm going to let you go. But, mark my words. If you endanger this ship in any way…I will come after you, I will kill you." Scion's voice was resolute, but deep down his heart ached at saying it. What did Kira know? He was just a civilian, he didn't know the truths of war…..he was just too young and stupid to know. Just like Scion once was.

Scion stepped aside and Kira, without a word, went through the door. Scion was surprise though, when Lacus still gave him a smile and wave as she was dragged through. Scion, Sai, and Mir all followed them through.

Strangely, it was then that Scion noticed that Lacus had suddenly gained forty pounds, or so it seemed.

Scion, went straight to revolution, he found the head mechanic inside the cock-pit. He told him that an emergency launch was going to be needed. The mechanic nodded.

"Oh! The funnels, who are they?" Scion asked quickly, grabbing the mechanic.

"They can't be used in combat, but you can use them as support boosters. Just don't release them." He responded before leaving the hangar.

As Scion sat in his seat the Strike was already on the launch pad, getting ready to launch after it was equipped with whatever gear Kira was going to take. I turned out to be Aiele.

Scion closed the hatch and turned his machine on, but made no move to follow. He had to wait a bit so that it could seem like he was pursuing Kira and not helping him. Thought it was a little of both, if Kira got into trouble Scion would help but if Kira turned his back on this ship he would be shot down by his hands.

When Mu La Flaga entered the hangar and was getting ready in the Zero Scion announced he would follow Kira, from a safe distance. At this time Kira opened contact with the ZAFT vessel and demanded the Aegis to come out for the exchange of Lacus.

"_So Kira…will you betray your friends….or your one best friend? What ties are strongest?" _Scion thought to himself.

Scion even felt envious of Kira was he launched. He never had the choice to choose Axle as a friend or foe, he only got the choice to shoot him or die. Some choice.

Scion more or less skipped the launching procedure and just got his butt out their into space. As he did the Aegis and Strike had already closed in and made the exchange. Scion stopped his machine, letting it drift a massive distance from the two machines. From here he decided just to listen, being close enough to hear over the open com.

"Thanks for everything, Kira. Athrun, you too." Lacus beginning of what Scion could hear.

"Kira!" Athrun called out to his friend, Scion could barely pick it up since they were outside the cock-pit. A bit of tuning on the radio frequency fixed that was able to pick up what was being said, it was easier to hear Kira though since he got into his frequency.

"Come with me too! Is there any reason for you to remain in the Earth Alliance?" Athrun continued.

"_Kira….what would I have done…if I were you?" _Scion thought to himself as he listened in. Would he have turned his back on Doctor Takashi, for Axle? If things hadn't gotten out of hand?

"I…Don't want to fight with you." Kira responded softly, some doubt in his voice.

"_Kira…don't make the mistake I did…fight for what you believe…not because of guilt. You are you, decide for you, not because of what you are." _Scion's heart conflicted with his thoughts, his mind told him that Kira should shoot Athrun now, as Scion shot Axle. His heart told him that he should try to save their friendship.

"But, in that ship are people I want to protect…..My friends are on that ship!" Kira shouted out, seeming to tell himself as well Lacus and Athurn.

"Then there's nothing I can do. The next time we fight, I will shoot you down!" Athurn yelled out.

"Yeah…same goes for me." Was Kira's last words.

Scion sat in his cock-pit, clutching the controls with his head hung. He laughed a little bit before throwing his head back and looking at the roof of his machine.

"_How is it that you've learned something in a few weeks, what took me a year? I committed treason by killing innocents and as a result I ran…from Axle, V….the entire army. I ran like a coward. And then, I didn't understand until I had lost them all including Doc. They taught me…to protect others and not to care for myself. And you, who betrayed your entire race…stand here today to protect your friends instead of going back to your people, because you promised them."_

"_Kira…you are a better man then me. I've only known you for a few days, but I feel like I've remembered what it means to be human…and not just a soldier."_

"Oh, Kira!" Lacus's voice came across the com, though small as the space between the suits greatened.

"Don't hate Mr. Kazuma! He's really a nice man, he's just lost his light!" She called over the expanse, causing Scion to look at the two drifting machines.

_**BEEP! BEEP!**_

Scion looked to his radar to show that a mobile suit had been launched from the ZAFT vessel, Scion never found out what the darn things name was…it didn't seem important with everything else on his mind. Or he just forgot with the pressure and drama of the current scene.

He kicked his machine into gear and went off on an intercept source for the Cgue mobile suit. They were quickly closing the gap between them when..

"Commande Rau Le Creuset. Please stop it. Do you want to make a battlefield out of where I, a representative of the Memorial Party, am currently at?" The voice of Lacus again came to everyone's ears over a second frequency. "I won't allow you to do that. Please stop all offensive actions now."

A silence fell over the battlefield but soon the Aegis and the Cgue retreated. Whatever the situation was, Kira, Scion, and the newly arrived Flaga were not going to push their luck. They all pulled back and started for the Archangel.

"Kira." Scion said, after Flaga and Kira had finished a very brief exchange.

"..Wh-what?"

"I'm sorry, Kira. I was wrong about before, you did the right thing."

On the small screen that showed Kira's face Scion caught something that resembled a smile before the boys head dropped again, to hide tears perhaps.

"…Thank you."

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Author's Notes: Aright, this is one of those chapters were drama and conversations and thoughts are the main theme. While in the beginning there is some brief fighting. I know that the funnel thing may seem random but I did it for a few reasons, one of them being that the mobile suits hardly ever have issues and mess up. I always found that unrealistic, as far as Gundam goes, so I put that in there.

Okay, so finally we are getting closer to the thick of the series, with the heavy fighting, drama, and so on. I'm expecting things to be more exciting and for people to see Scion's affect more often, like you did in this chapter. But, I'm kind of finding it more interesting to fit him into the story then to change the line, but some things I will change because I thought they could have turned out differently.

Thanks for reading and please Review. Anything is good, even a good job, or not. Thanks for all the support I've gotten thus far.

-Arc.


	16. The Growing Seed

-1**Chapter 11: The Growing Seed**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

_**Author's Notes: **_

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**January 29, C.E. 71**

**Archangel; 8:00 A.M.**

Scion, Sai, and Mir were all waiting to see what would become of Kira. They were floating outside of the captains office where Murrie, Flaga, and the Ensign, who Scion had failed to make any real attempt to get to know, were deciding on a punishment for the young pilot.

Scion was luckier, he didn't launch with Kira but launched saying he was going after him, and the subject of Scion putting a gun in a few faces never came up either. So they all waited silently in the hall for Kira to emerge.

Once the door slid open the three converged on the figure of Kira. They asked him a bunch of questions right off the bat.

"Are you okay?" Sai asked.

"What did they say?" Mir questioned.

"How bad is it?" Scion asked finally.

Before Kira could answer Flaga emerged from the room and swept down the hall in a hurry, the Ensign following afterwards but at a much slower pace and with a chilling glare at Kira Yamato. Everyone watched her go, as if the atmosphere had frozen.

"It's okay now." Kira finally said, turning his head away from the female officer.

"I see, so its only us then." Sai said, looking at Mir.

"We made sergeant Murdock very angry," Mir, started with a shrug of her shoulders. "He said 'Don't you know the meaning of the word danger?'" Mir mimicked the way Murdock's voice sounded at the time, Scion found it funny.

"And I, well I was spared thanks to you all keeping my little gune situation a secret." Scion stated as he put the palm of his right hand on his forehead.

"I'm sorry. I'll help you and Mir, Sai." Kira offered, going back to Sai and Mir's punishment.

"It's okay. We are going to be joining up with the 8th Fleet soon anyway. It's not a big deal."

The four traveled sailed down the hall, towards their individual destinations. They traveled in silence until Sai brought up some new information.

"Kuzzy, he…he said he overheard your conversation with that girl."

Kira looked at Sai, looking like he didn't understand what Sai was getting at.

"That person who pilots the Aegis is your friend, right?"

Scion and Kira both looked surprised, though Scion was behind the crowd and his shock was hidden. He didn't think they would have known, but they did even when Kira was leaving. They still trusted him too.

Scion decided they were good friends…and people. It took guts to let Kira go knowing his friend was the enemy...had to hand it to them.

"To tell you the truth, I was a bit worried." Sai continued.

"Sai…" Kira began but was stopped by Sai's continuing statement.

"But, thank goodness! You came back to us. We've got our shifts, see you later Kira Glad to have you back." Sai finished, before him and Mir went on their way. Leaving Kira and Scion alone to watch them drift away.

Kira went to the elevator and Scion fell in step behind him, having to go to the next floor as well. As Scion entered in after Kira he turned around, to look at the door since he would have to go out that way. As the doors closed he saw the image of Flay. Scion's reaction was the stop the elevator but the look in her eye stopped him from moving.

"_Did she hear everything?"_ Scion thought as he looked at Kira, who looked at him questioningly.

"Oh, sorry, Kira. Just thinking. So, lucky break on that one, eh?"

"Yeah. If I had been in the military they would have executed me."

"…Yeah, that's how it was then too."

"Huh?"

"Oh, sorry. I used to be in the Earth Alliance, I joined….a little after Junius Seven." Scion turned his head away from Kira, knowing that he was lying to hide his own shame.

"So that's where you probably got those contacts that you were talking about when you first showed up."

"Sort of, after I left I kind of fell into the life of fighting. Sad, but one must do what one needs to survive. Yumi had most of the contacts."

"Why….why would you choose to fight a war?" Kira's face was looking down at the ground when he asked, as if trying to find a reason to fight himself.

"Kira, in war there are no good or bad guys. In war there is simple spirit and the will to fight. I can't say that this war is a good thing…but for one side it will most likely end up bad and the other favorable. But, I fight because if we fight long enough….eventually we will tire of it…and the war will end. That is the only absolute. I don't think the ZAFT or EA are the bad or good guys, they are just both stubborn."

"….It doesn't make it any easier."

_**-Laugh­- **_ "Good, Kira. That's very good. If war was easy, we would fight for eternity. It is because war is hard, painful, and evil that it will eventually end."

The elevator door opened and the two exited the elevator before going their separate ways. Scion to his quarters, and Kira to some other destination. Scion decided that he should see Yumi for a bit, they hadn't talked much ever since Scion found himself hanging out with the kids of the ship, they were closer to his age and all.

**Archangel, Outside Yumi's Quarters; 8:30 A.M.**

Scion pressed a button to notify Yumi that someone was at the door. She gave a curt 'enter' and Scion did just that. The room was a big mess, files were everywhere, where she kept them all he didn't know. Didn't women have purses and things?

"Yumi, its me." Scion called out. Just as he did Yumi came out of the bathroom with fresh clothing on, civilian clothing.

"Hello, Scion. What is it?" The female asked dully.

"We haven't talked in a while. Just checking up."

"Nothing to check up on, Scion. I'm more then capable at looking after myself. Though, I do have something we need to discuss."

"Shoot."

"Well, for starters; Revolution is up to par now. Everything is either tweaked or put back at the original settings. I won't trust this ships crew to tell you anything anymore." Yumi started as she sat behind her desk.

"Secondly, we need to discuss what we are going to do about the 8th Fleet."

Scion nodded and sat on her bed, since it was the only other available place to sit. He took a deep breath and then returned his gaze to Yumi. Strangely he found himself drifting from her more and more as the days went by. Scion was beginning to think that his original interest in Yumi was simple infatuation and nothing more.

Now was not the time for that though. Though, Scion really didn't think it was a big issue. Him and Yumi never got into a relationship so it wouldn't present any strange problems. Scion saw no reason to fret.

"We are mercenaries right? I don't see the problem."

"Halberton is the commander of the 8th Fleet. I think you've run into him before."

"Oh….right. Well, we can't really shove off anytime soon. We just have to hope things go well…I'd rather not destory this ship, considering you all would be on it."

"Hmph. I don't like this Scion, but if we ever get out of this alive I'll personally accept one of those date invites you've given me that I've always turned down."

A strange silence filled the room before Scion started to laugh, Yumi following suit afterwards. It was funny, how totally funny the joke was. Yumi must have realized that Scion had grown out his crush on her, whether she was sad or happy about it, Scion couldn't tell. They laughed for roughly half a minute before gaining control of themselves.

"Finally, the last thing is that I will be staying on, with the 8th Fleet." Yumi suddenly declared.

"…Wait…what?" Was Scion's frazzled response.

"My fiancé is in the EA. He was supposed to leave and join the good doctor and me on Earth but he never got out, he just lied to get me out of the wars way."

"So, that's it huh? Just like that?"

"Just like that. I never planned to stay Scion. For a while, I assumed him dead which was why I continued to watch over you. Kind of like a little brother."

"Heh, never got beyond that, huh?"

"You're way too immature and impulsive for me."

"….Thanks."

"You're a man, and all men deserve to be knocked down a peg or two once in their lives. You'll thank me later."

"…O-kay. Sure."

The conversation went on for a while longer. It was painfully obvious that Scion didn't want her to go, but she was resolute for reasons that were her own. He wondered, why she was so stern about leaving, when things were moving so smoothly, why didn't she just bring him with us?

Somehow…it didn't all add up.

**Archangel, The Halls; 1:24 P.M.**

Scion was just leaving Yumi's office, on his way to the hangar when he happened to run into Flay. She was walking rather slowly and seemed to be looking for someone. She spotted Scion and came up to him sheepishly.

"Yo, Flay." Scion said, trying to sound as upbeat as possible. The girl bowed her head and said nothing.

"I'm sorry…about how I acted before." She said after a brief silence.

"Hey, hey, its okay. You were in a bad situation. Its completely understandable, really."

"No, to you and Kira I was mean I-"

"Hey! Stop, don't beat yourself up over it. Look, we call a truce, okay? I'll keep on fighting and you put a smile back on that face, eh? Girls look prettier with a smile anyway."

Flay looked at Scion before nodding and putting on the best fake smile she could. It made Scion laugh at least. She told him he was also looking for Kira, Scion shrugged and pointed her toward the Cafeteria, to ask if anyone there had seen him come by. She bowed and ran off to find her classmate, now soldier.

Scion walked away with a sense of accomplishment. He had done something right, for once.

**Archangel, The Hangar; 4:45 P.M.**

Scion was, or was until a while ago, working in the cockpit of his machine, checking the new stuff added by the mechanics. Nothing major, just a new targeting system and some better use of the fuel and a mental link that Scion could use to activate the Psycho-Frame with his mind.. Scion had fallen asleep after he finished, leaning back in a chair when you are tired will do that too you. He wasn't so much tired as in his body, but that so much had been going on his body was just wasn't back in the normal routine yet.

Then the alert for level one battle stations blared, snapping Scion from his pleasant nap. He shook his head, rubbed his eyes, and then closed his cockpit. The ships captain was nice enough to give him a pilots suit, but the Ensign said it was against protocol so Scion had to stick with his civilian clothes. Needless to say, Scion was the first to the catapult.

"Scion," Mir's voice came on the com, for the first time since he had come unto the ship. He guessed that she didn't like him but now she at least approved of him….why she would do that when he put a gun in her face he wouldn't be able to ever know.

"The Gamow is coming quick and the Dual, Blitz, and Buster have launched already. Good luck."

"Right, Thanks, Mir."

Scion gripped his controls as the catapult launched him out of the Archangel, seconds later he was followed by Flaga in his Zero, and Kira in the Strike.

The prototypes activated their phase-shift armor and quickly went into battle. Flaga went right for the Buster, scattering its wire-pods and opening fire. Scion, knowing the Zero couldn't damage the Buster with its weapons went to aid him.

On the other side the Strike had enter combat with the Dual. They began firing rounds at each other, testing the others defenses and trying to look for a weak point.

"_Crap, I can't leave Flaga alone, but the Blitz is moving in on the ship. I'll have to fight this on two fronts."_ Scion used the new mental link that was created to start the Psycho-Frame and launched the funnels. They six pods chased after the Blitz to keep it remotely busy.

"Alright, now for you!" Scion called out as he opened fire from his beam file. He left the shotgun back at the ship, it wouldn't work against there armor anyway so he took the shield instead. While Flaga, who's attacks really did nothing to the Buster, and Scion fought the long-range machine Kira fought on with the Dual, now locked in a fierce beam saber dual.

The Blitz, had all but avoided the funnels, using his cloaking system to keep it from outside of Scion's sight, he could feel it but he could never tell where to have his funnels fire because it just seemed empty space. Thankfully the Archangel made it so that the Mirage was not a good option, since it canceled out the Phase-Shift. With that done the funnels began to fully harass the machine.

"Uh, Flaga!" Scion called out as he witnessed the orange machine barely miss a shot from the busters main cannon. Scion pulled out his beam saber and went in, to close the gap between the two machines.

"Uh, now this is dangerous!" The pilot said as he separated his cannon into two short range guns, that shot much like an oversized shot guns that shot a wide beam spread. Scion put his shield up as the blasts pelted him over and over again.

"_I got close and his guns are really taking advantage of it!" _Scion continued to get pummeled until the Zero circled around the Buster and got his attention.

"Thanks, Flaga!" Scion called out as he sped around to help his ally again.

"Just keep your head above water next time!"

On the other side of the battle field the Funnels were firing at the Blitz with failing accuracy, the distance made the mental signal weak and the funnels reactions, accuracy, and maneuvers suffered. Then, all at once the funnels ceased to work. They floated in the open space…dead.

"Oh no, there outside my awareness….I can't control them anymore. Damn it, have to hurry." Scion muttered to himself as he charged the Buster again, it turned his gun on him once more but Scion made sure he didn't fall into the same trap as last time.

"Go down darn you!" Scion barked.

"Heh, you first Natural!" The pilot screamed as he launched a massive missile salvo at Scion. The boy used the **Igelstellung **to shoot down many of the missiles, while the rest were dodged. He cursed, this was not going like he planned, these pilots were good and he was no longer a hot shot since all his advantages were taken away. They had their own prototypes and they were coordinators. It wasn't looking good.

"Kira! The Blitz is getting to close, come back!" Scion turned his head in response to the call to Kira and zoomed in to see the Blitz was on the ship itself, the Archangel was in dire trouble.

"_The Archangel…Yumi, Mir, Sai, Kira, Flay, everyone. Not again!" _As these thoughts passed through Scion he felt that same burning sensation he had felt right after Doctor Takashi had perished. His eyes clouded and everything became surreal. As he looked up he didn't see the image of a bursting Seed like he had before. Instead he saw a tremendous downpour of rain and then something shot up from what appeared to be the ground, Scion later realized it was a sprouting Seed, awakened and given life by the rain.

In an instant the funnels were restored to full command, the influence of Scion's awareness increasing by leaps and bounds. The funnels came together instantly and opened fire on the Blitz, forcing it to retreat from its assualt on the ship. It tried to fire its rifle at the ship as it retreated but was blocked by the shields that the funnels created.

Scion's awareness also lead him to see that Kira, in a similar increase in ability had just deal a major blow to the Dual with his beam saber and was now quickly closing in on the Archangel, he attacked the Blitz and easily drove it off. The Duel returned to the fight but only to be struck in the same place by a dagger of some sort that the Strike had equipped.

While all of his was going on Scion had been continuing his fight with the Buster. His awareness kept the funnels alert around the ship and Revolution was slowly gaining ground on the Buster. His shots no longer seemed to touch Scion. The tide had turned.

"Dearka! Yzak is hurt! We have to retreat!" Came the call from the Blitz pilot, over an open com.

"Ugh Yzak?...Alright! Alright!" He answered as they pulled away.

Scion's funnels returned to him and he blinked, returning to his original state of mind. He looked at his hands before relaxing back in his seat. He propelled his machine towards the ship, letting himself take in what he felt that day.

"The rain and a growing Seed. Kind of like me, the rain is my experiences and the Seed is myself. Heh, listen to me, trying to sound deep. Idiot, get your head together, Scion." The man scolded himself before returning to base. Though he couldn't shake the feeling he had just had...what was that anyway?

When all three pilots were retrieved it was announced that the 8th Fleet had met up with the Archangel.

Everyone cheered. Even Scion.

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Author's Notes: Alright, yet another chapter is done. This chapter is a neat one, by my book. Finally get to have Scion and Kira interact a bit, I was interested to see how I would do with Kira. Hopefully you all will think I did okay.

Now, as for the Seed mode, no it was not a mistake. There was no bursting seed this time, bust a sprouting Seed. A mystery, eh? Indeed.

Oh, and thanks to all my readers, those that review and those that are silent. XP. Thanks to Centurious for continuing to be a big supporter and to General MG for his support as well, and I'm considering Destiny but I still have a ways to go before I get there, thanks for the comment though!

Oh, and for those that are wondering. I will change some things. I'm just being really, really, picky about it at the moment. You may see some of the more subtle things I'm messing with now. Maybe not. XD

So, that's it, as always, I try to find my typos and such, but hopefully I caught them the first time. . Hopefully.

-Arc.


	17. The Burning Wings

**Chapter 12: The Burning Wings.**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**January 29, C.E. 71**

**Archangel, Scion's Quarters; 5:00 P.M.**

The Archangel was now in the middle of the 8th Fleet. They had pulled along the flag ship, headed by Halberton, the _Menelaos. _Scion had entered the bathroomsto clean himself up from the last battle. He turned the bathroom faucet off and looked at himself in the mirror. He looked the same but during the last part of that fight he certainly wasn't the same!

"Ugh, come on Scion get it together. It was probably just a huge adrenaline rush from the battle, nothing to get all worked up over." He turned the water back on and splashed some water on his face, before cutting the water again.

He walked out after drying his face and looked to the far wall, the 8th Fleet's flag ship was on the other side of that armor plating, and Halberton. He wondered slightly how things would turn out, not that he was any enemy of Halberton, or that either one owed the other anything. Still…he wasn't an ally either.

All in all Scion wasn't too worried, the commander was a good person as far as he could tell. He didn't think he was a corrupt person…or at least not yet.

Scion had already received a message from Yumi stating she would be leaving soon to board the Menelaos and then stay with her fiancé on his ship, one of the support vessels, thanks to one of her amazing contacts. He was a bit disappointed about it but he had other things to do.

As to what Scion was going to do, he had already decided. He would see the ship to the Moon Base or wherever it was heading before leaving. The EA needed to begin the production of mobile suits to combat ZAFT and even the war out.

Scion made his way to the hangar, to work on his machine and to see Halberton when he arrived, there was an announcement for everyone to be there, Scion and Yumi included.

**Archangel, Hangar Bay; 5:45 P.M.**

When Scion came into the hangar he saw the normal buzz. The mechanics were going left and right, up and down, and every other which way to get things done. His own people were like flies hoping all over his own machine.

He turned his head to see Mu, as he floated around leisurely, to see Kira's head pop out of the Zero, probably helping with repairs. Scion decided to check what was up.

"We've already met with the 8th Fleet! So why do we have to be in such a hurry?" The young Coordinator asked.

"I feel uneasy if we leave it like this!" Flaga said excitedly, probably from Kira's sudden burst which was probably why the Zero pilot jumped.

"Although they are the 8th Fleet, most of their pilots are rookies." Mr. Murdoch pointed out. "When something happens we have to rely on the Lieutenant."

"What is going to happen to the Strike then? Is it okay to leave it like that?" Kira's question was a valid one. The OS had been boosted a lot by Kira so he could operate it and without a doubt a Natural wouldn't know what to do with it. To put it back though would mean to lower its abilities…still, a pilot less machine was useless no matter how powerful it was.

"Yeah…I know, but…going through the trouble to return it to its original state and lower its capabilities is somewhat…"

Scion had finally reached the group at this point but before he could say anything, the captain spoke, appearing out of nowhere and coming into the hangar area for probably the first time since Scion had been here.

"If possible, we would like someone to pilot it as it is." Murrie stated as she floated over to the group. Kira stated surprise at her visit while Flaga seemed to be expecting it.

"I'm sorry, but I have something I must talk to Kira with ."

Kira instantly gave a look of mistrust and the captain could only give a small smile.

"Don't look at my so suspiciously. But, I guess it can't be helped."

The two shortly left, heading for the Strike. The three of them, Flaga, Scion, and Murdoch, watched them leave.

"Well, I guess if Kira leaves we should all say something to him." Mu said.

"Yeah, no doubt. We'd all be dead without the kid, he protected us in the beginning before we got the other kid." Flaga and Murdoch both looked at Scion who drew away with a look that said, 'Hey, what are you looking at me for?'

"So, speaking of you, Kazuma. What are your plans?" Flaga asked Scion.

_**-Cough- **_" I'm going to see the ship to a base, so I know its safe. Besides, my crew is too big for the civilian ships to get in one trip." Scion was happy that Mu didn't use the term 'kid' when speaking to him, it felt degrading.

They both gave a sigh of relief, "Well, I'd better get back to work." Murdoch said as he pushed away from the Zero. Flaga gave a mini salute to Scion before going into his machine to start the repairs again. Scion went to Revolution to also do some work.

Scion held unto the guard rails and looked up at the machine. It was a monstrous thing, why mankind thought up these things he didn't know. But he'd rather it be in his hands then in someone else's hands.

"Scion, can I have a moment with you also?" Scion turned his head to see the approaching captain.

"Don't see why not, I'm your hired soldier after all." Scion joked, trying to act bitter to make it funny.

"True." She smiled from the small amount of humor. "I just wanted to thank you, you've only been on the ship for a few days but you've made things a lot easier for the entire ship. Taking a bit of stress off of all of us. Most of all, Kira."

"Huh?"

"Before you came we put our entire future on that boys shoulders. When you came it became easier for him, since we could rely on both of you. It isn't fair to put that on either of you, you're too young for that responsibility but, I want to thank you for your help." She bowed her head in thanks.

"Heh, hey, we aren't done yet captain!" Scion pushed off the walkway and up to Revolutions chest, where he planted himself, "I'm not done until I see this ship safely transported to Alaska, the Moon, wherever. Don't apologize to me when I haven't finished my job yet! I said I would safely escort this ship in exchange for looking after my men! I mean to do it too." He gave her a thumbs up with his right hand as he slowly pushed himself back down to the walkway. The female captain and smiled before standing up straight.

"Well then, Scion Kazuma, I expect nothing short of your best. Understood!" She was back to her normal self and Scion saluted in mid-drift.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"I expect you to see Commander Halberton's arrival, Pilot Kazuma, don't be late!" With those last words she retreated to the ground level, to await the arrival of the Admiral.

"Heh, got it, captain." Scion turned back to Revolution and gave a heavy sigh. _"Too bad I'm protecting this ship for my own selfish reasons as well."_

**Archangel, Hangar Bay; 6:30 P.M.**

They were all assembled, Scion next to Kira with all the mechanics and students who volunteered. Murrie, Flaga, Natarle, along with the original crew of the Archangel were up front as the Admiral and his second descended from their shuttle to meet the crew.

Scion looked around briefly but found no sign of Yumi. It didn't really surprise him since he had noticed their continued drifting ever since they entered the thick of his war, and even more since they joined the Archangel.

"My, I thought it was over when I heard that Heliopolis was destroyed." Halberton said as he descended down to Murrie, using her to stop his descent. "Its good to meet you people here."

"Thank you very much." Murrie replied with a salute, "Its been a long time, Admiral."

"I received reports about the battle and I was worried."

Scion assumed he was speaking of the battle when the Advance Fleet was destroyed while trying to meet with the Archangel. He wondered how big the lose of the advance fleet was to the entire 8th, not to mention the lose of Flay's father who was a high ranking official.

"Is everyone okay?" The Admiral next asked before eying commanding officers, telling them to introduce themselves.

The Ensign stepped forward and saluted, "I am Natarle Badgiruel."

"I am Mu La Flaga, from the 7th Mobile Fleet." Flaga next stated, also with a salute.

"Ahh! How fortunate for them to have you with them." Halberton stated as he sprung over to Flaga's front.

"No, I really didn't help much." Flaga responded, not accepting the praise.

The man smiled and turned his attention to the group of kids, Scion included. "Ah, what about those people over there?"

"Yes, they have been helping with the operation of the ship. Students from Heliopolis." Murrie answered.

Halberton, a bit unkindly, pushed the Flaga out of the way and made a beeline for the group of teens. They all stood up straight, to show respect.

"It's been confirmed that everybody's family is safe." He started with a smile on his face and a certain air of glee around him.

In response all of the kids looked at each other with happy faces. Scion looked at them all, without them it wouldn't have mattered how hard he fought. They were the real stars. The ones like Mir and Sai who worked on the bridge and those that worked in the hangar as mechanics. Real hero's right in front of his eyes. They made the wheels spin and that is what wins a war.

"You've been working so hard in such a harsh situation. My thanks to you too." Halberton said before his second, Hoffman or something, noted that they should be going. The man nodded.

"I'd like to talk to you people again later." He scanned them over before locking his eyes on Revolution and then back on the group of kids. Moments later his eyes found Scion. He said nothing as he looked away and exited the hangar to have a meeting with Flaga, Murrie, and Natarle.

Scion watched him go, he wasn't really surprised that Halberton found out it was him. For one, he knew that he was there because of Revolution. It wouldn't be any of the mechs so they were all ruled out, and Halberton probably had id's on the other kids. Scion though, had no such thing. He was presumed dead the day he left the EA.

The group all dispersed to do their normal routine. As Scion headed towards his mech he was stopped by Jackie.

"I got a message from the Admiral, he wants you to join the meeting."

"Huh? What for?"

Jackie shrugged and pushed off towards the hangar exit, to take up his position on the bridge.

Scion sighed and looked back at his machine before kicking off to the corridors to join the meeting.

------

"What? Now I have to wait?" Scion said with a large douse of annoyance in his voice.

"Orders are for you to wait until after the meeting being held. I'm just following my orders." The single guard said as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Bah. Fine." Scion went to the end of the corridor and sat on a bench to wait for his time to talk to Halberton. No doubt he had a lot of questions being aimed at the Captian and, soon, him. Shigen took a deep breath and slammed his hand into his pocket.

How many things had occurred in the past…what…week or two? War moved a lot faster then Scion thought. Not only that but it changed people a lot faster too, in the beginning Scion was so eager to start fighting, he wanted to get to Heliopolis so badly and start his vague plan. But now, he just went into battle with a kind of dopey vigor. In two weeks he went from a over-zealous berserker to a sadden soldier. It was the reality of war he supposed.

He was nudged in the shoulder by the guard who pointed to the Murrie, Natarle, and Flaga leaving the quarters they had just been in. Scion stood and walked back to the door and stepped inside.

"You called me, Admiral?" Scion said, trying to sound oblivious to the fact that Halberton might know who he was.

"Oh, yes, sit down." Halberton said in a cheery mood, obviously humoring Scion. No sooner had Scion sat down did the mans face change and the door behind shut closed.

"I never thought I would see that mobile suit in the hangar of an EA ship. This war continues to surprise me. Scion Kazuma is it? You are reported to be dead." Halberton began officially.

"What do you want?" Scion retorted with a slicing tone.

"To understand you reasons for being on this ship. What are your intentions?" He folded his hands in front of his face and waited for an answer. One that Scion took his time in giving.

"My intentions are my own, but I have no ills means for this ship. I'm currently contracted to the ship." Scion answered as he turned his head to the wall on the far right, to avoid eye contact.

"Yes, so Murrie tells me. Well, I have a proposal for you."

"You mean a condition for letting me leave alive you mean?" Scion spat while still breaking eye-contact. He didn't know why he was being so defensive, but he felt like it was the right stance to be taking right now.

The Admiral grunted softly but choose to ignore the last comment, "The ZAFT forces following the Archangel will attack. That is for certain. When they do you are too disobey any orders Murrie gives and sortie to help delay the ZAFT forces until the Archangel can successfully re-enter the Earth's Atmosphere."

Scion turned his eyes on Halberton for a while, when Scion was in his mobile suit the man was much nicer. Now though, he was being an admiral and thinking of his men. Being the devil was part of the job he supposed. Though Scion and Halberton knew they didn't hold any killing intents towards the other, they were both just following their agenda's….that happened to conflict with each other. And to Halberton, he was a liability that could come back and bite the EA in the ass one day. So he was trying to make use of Scion and snuff him out at the same time. Smart guy.

"Fine. In return, you leave all of my crew on board the Archangel alone, let them do as they wish as far as their lives. I don't want any of them forced into the military." Scion said finally. Halberton nodded before the door behind Scion was opened and a guard stepped in. Scion took that as his cue to leave and did so in haste.

-------------

**Archangel, Hangar Bay/Shuttle Bay; 7:40 P.M.**

Scion had departed from his conversation with the admiral and committed himself to wandering around aimlessly for the time being. He wasn't sure whether to label Halberton as a bad guy or a good guy playing the bad guy to protect his fleet. Scion shook his head finalizing that it didn't matter, he had no choice but to do what he was ordered to do or his crew would be in a pickle.

Scion passed through by the doorway that lead to the shuttle area designated for the civilians to be transported to earth. He saw in the line Kira Yamato talking to a small child who had given him a origami of some kind before returning to her mother. Scion decided to stop in and say goodbye.

"So, leaving, Kira?" Scion said as he came up beside the former pilot, keeping his voice in a monotone so he didn't influence Kira in any particular way.

"…Yeah, I never wanted to pilot the Strike in the first place." Kira responded as they stood in line.

Sadly, Scion didn't have anything to say to that. He himself has always been an over eager soldier, so ready to start a war and end it. So ready to kill someone without realizing the magnitude of his actions. Bitterly he wondered how many families has he torn apart, how many widows, mourning mothers and fathers, and sniveling siblings had he created because he sat behind the controls of the machines of war?

"Hey, Kira." Scion put his hand on Yamato's shoulder and gave him a small smile, "We do what we have to do. You did your job and no one will think less of you no matter what you do."

Kira nodded with a return smile before Scion slapped his back and stepped back, "Don't worry, If anyone talks bad about you, I'll give them something to yap about!" Scion waved before starting back towards the hallway and then to his machine, his own machine of war.

-------------

**Archangel, Hangar Bay/Shuttle Bay; 8:05 P.M.**

Just like Halberton stated the attack by Zaft came quickly. The alarm was raised and Scion looked up from his position in his cockpit as they called for Flaga and Kazuma to report to their stations. Scion activated the controls of his machine and made ready to…disobey orders to obey another's.

Several minutes passed by and it was obvious that Murrie was not going to sortie the mobile suits. She was trying to make a run for it to the Atmosphere!

"_Argh, so this is why you wanted me to disobey orders! Damn it."_ Scion closed the cock-pit and started for the linear catapult. Instantly Miriallia's face came up in a screen.

"Scion, what are you doing?" She asked.

"I'm launching, don't ask any questions and just get yourselves down to Alaska! I'll cover the ship and support the 8th Fleet." Scion yelled as he launched himself down the catapult, without waiting for a proper countdown. He boosted away from the Archangel and went straight for the heart of the battle, which was still in the middle of the 8th Fleet.

Reaching the battle field instantly put him under fire by the Enemy, he had heat signatures from all over the place. He was willing to bet that all four of the stolen prototypes were in here somewhere along with numerous other mobile suits.

Scion was instantly met by two GINN mobile suits. Scion cursed to himself at his misfortune, he'd probably be the last of this Fleet standing if all four of those machines were here. The two GINN's circled around the Revolution as they tried to engage him in long range combat, but a quick deployment of the Funnels lead to a quick demise of the two machines who couldn't dodge so many concentrated blasts.

Just as Scion was going to continue onward he was shot at from above and to his rear. He veered off to his left to avoid the shots and came face to face with the Aegis and Blitz.

"..Heh, fancy meeting you out here, Zala." Scion remarked, trying to make some humor of his dim situation.

"Where's the Strike and the Legged Ship!" Athurn asked as him and his ally positioned themselves on both sides of Scion.

"Oh, probably on Earth by now." Scion bluffed.

"What!" Athrun exclaimed.

"I don't think so Athrun, I just got a transmission from Yzak and Dearka, they are engaging the legged ship."

"_Shit, come all the way out here and those two get around me. Damn it Halberton…if Kira left the ship then it won't make it!" _Scion pressed down on his pedals and sent Revolution back towards the Archangel at full speed. He didn't get far before the Aegis fired its **Scylla 580mm Energy Cannon**, forcing Scion to return his attention to the two machines around him.

"We won't let you go back to the Legged ship! Nicol!" Athrun called out and the Blitz re-appeared directly in front of Scion, after using its Mirage Colloid to sneak in front of the MS. Scion barely had enough time to raise his shield to his face before the Blitz shot of one of its **Lancer Darts**, the missile punctured Scion's shield and exploded seconds later.

Scion engaged all of his funnels and blasted away from the two MS, as he dropped his main rifle and pulled out his beam saber before engaging the Aegis who had returned to its Mobile suit form, and the Blitz who came at him as well.

It was a nasty battle. Scion was sure if the funnels weren't there to keep both mobiles suits from attacking him at once he'd be finished. Compared to these guys he was still a rookie, they were Coordinator elites. He could only rely on the power of his machine and his awareness to use the funnels to get him out of his alive. Spending almost an entire year with the Doc doing training missions wasn't helping him right now.

Even so, he wasn't making progress. The funnels were using their shield mechanism more then attacking and it was rapidly depleting his reserves, too quickly for the sun to replenish his batteries. He was going to go dry at this rate. Something had to give.

"Damn it." Scion muttered as he parried another blow from the Aegis before the Blitz slammed into his right. Scion gripped his controls hard and turned to head back at the Blitz just as the Aegis appeared above him and thrust its beam saber at Scion. Thankfully, the interference of the funnels deterred him from completing the assault.

"..Get out of my way!" Scion yelled as he shot towards the Aegis, turning all of his funnels towards the purple machine, each funnels making it impossible for the Aegis to move away. Scion yelled as he brought his beam saber up. Athrun raised his shield and blocked the attack as the Blitz launched another **Lancer Dart** and pierced Scion's right leg and actually carried him off a little ways from the thrusters still being active after the shit struck, it never exploded but remained in the leg of Revolution.

"Ugh." Scion righted himself and caught the two enemies in his sightings and braced himself for another assault. The Blitz came forward this time and fired its rifle at Scion who took evasive measures. Five beam shots later Scion was alerted of the Aegis quickly coming down on his head, firing its **Scylla 580mm Energy Cannon **again. Scion jerked his controls as the Blitz began a attack run.

"Argh!" Nicol yelled. The Revolution brought up its beam saber and struck back at the Blitz, who parried and reached out with his spare hand and gripped Revolutions right shoulder. Before Scion could pull away the Blitz delivered a kick to the middle of his mobile suits frame.

"You pest!" Scion muttered as his funnels responded by firing a full volley at the Blitz, nailing its right shoulder and grazing its left leg. Scion righted himself and readied his saber again but not before the Aegis swooped in, still in its MA form, and grabbed Revolution.

"You won't return to the Archangel!" Athrun yelled.

"You'll have to kill me first! You spoiled brat!" Scion spat back.

The Aegis turned direction and made a run for an EA ship who was supporting the Flag Ship, _Menelaos. _It dove through enemy fire, avoiding missiles, and continued at ramming speed. Scion's eyes opened wide, he was going to bulldoze Scion through that ship!

"I know your machine doesn't have the phase-shift armor that we have." Athrun stated.

"So, kill me in the explosion while you get away with nary a scratch…bastard." Scion began working vigorously to escape from the grasp of the Aegis, to free himself before he was in a world of hurt. Picking up speed, the Aegis grew closer and closer to the EA ship. Scion's mind worked at one-hundred and fifty percent, trying to find anyway out of this situtation. The sweat on his hands began to build under his glove, this was not going to be fun.

"ATHRUN!" Scion yelled as the Aegis slammed directly into the ship. A huge hole was made because of the suicidal run and then a massive explosion followed. All nearby vessels, EA and ZAFT, stopped to watch what would be left of the two machines if anything at all. The explosion subsided, leaving a massive dust cloud in its wake, but still no Aegis nor Revolution emerged from the wreckage. Nicol moved closed to the destruction with a growing fear for his friend.

"Athrun! Can you hear me?" Nicol called out to his teammate. The smoke began to clear and Nicol eyes opened slightly at the sight, both the Aegis and Revolution were inside a purple shell of some kid.

"You!" Scion yelled out as he stabbed the Aegis's legs off. The two were encased in a hexagonal shield, made by the combined efforts of the funnels system. The shield broke off and Scion slammed the enemy away.

Normally Scion couldn't return fire when encased but because the Aegis had held onto Scion he protected them both and then attacked while inside the shielding. It was just luck that Athrun hadn't been aware of this ability or he might have had Nicol get rid of the funnels first.

Nicol instantly went to aid Athrun and prepared himself to defend his ally. The two machines stared at each other, and soon Athrun, in mobile form now, had righted himself as best he could without his legs. The Blitz activated its beam saber while Athrun made ready to shoot Scion down.

"Are you alright Athrun!" Nicol asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. We have to keep him from the Archangel until Yzak and Dearka destroy it."

"_I don't have time for this!" _Scion readied himself for the two machines to continue their assault, but before they could a EA Vessel passed between the them. Scion's eyes opened wide as he recognized it as Hablerton's ship, the _Menelaos. _Scion gave one second of mourning before calling his funnels to him and pushing them and his machine to their limits to reach the Archangel, using the ship as a cover as he retreated. He didn't even realize that Yumi, could possibly be on that ship. He blasted through the charred remains of the EA Fleet, what was left of it anyway.

"_Hang, on everyone. I'm coming.." _Scion said to himself as he neared the sight of the descending Archangel, the destroyed debris of the civilian ship and the three falling stars, the Buster, Duel, and Strike. Scion instantly noticed that the Strike was far off the trajectory of the Archangel.

If Scion's mind hadn't already been in overdrive he might have thought of something a bit more practical then what he was currently going to do. He dove into the atmosphere after Kira, or who he assumed could only be Kira, planning on ramming into him and pushing him closing to the Archangel.

"Scion, what are you doing!" Mir's voice came on the com.

"I'm going to bring the Strike to you! Be ready to intercept." Scion then shut off any outside communication and threw off his helmet and wiped his brow as he descended. The heat ran up rapidly.

Revolution was suddenly rocked by the explosion of two of his funnels that couldn't handle the intense heat and pressure. A third exploded as he continued his ramming path. Then the Revolution, like Scion wanted, rammed into the Strike and ropelling him in a better direction, towards the Archangel which was moving to catch him.

"Just have to steer…stee….uh…ugh…" Scion's head bobbed as he strained to keep his eyes open. He looked at the Strike once last time before the last of his funnels exploded, rocking his machine, and sending Scion into a feverish state, not being strong enough to deal with the intense heat. His hands slipped from the controls and his head took one last look up before it slumped back into a hunched position.

Scion wondered, as he continued to fall, if he did that for himself or for the Archangel. Whatever the case Scion smiled, he kind of felt like he might have actually saved someone. As he fell into full unconsciousness, Scion felt more accomplish then he had in his entire career thus far. With a cough and a heavy breath Scion closed his eyes, finding sleep very hard to resist.

The Archangel watched in horror as the Revolution fell in a vastly different direction then the Strike and Archangel. All communication was rejected and they could only watch as the debris of the funnels burned in the atmosphere, appearing to give the Gundam burning wings as it descended to Earth...

----------

**Author's Notes: **Alright, so long time no see. Sorry for the delay, been busy and since I don't own the SEED eps I have to rely on a friend of mine who, until currently, I was not able to see. But, as you all can see, things may not have gone as some of you may have thought. Where will Scion land on Earth? That's the big question huh? In the desert with the rest, in the ocean, or someplace else. Who knows...well, I do. There is also another mystery here as well, but I'll let you find that one for yourselves.

But, anyway, I hope the action sequences were easy enough to understand and get a hold off. Its difficult to do these scenes while not just making them all about dodging and shooting and more dodging. But hopefully I pleased most of you.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this and hopefully I got out most of the bugs.

-Arc.


	18. The Diverging Path

**Chapter 13: The Diverging Path**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**C.E. 71**

**Unknown Location , Time Unknown**

Scion's eyes opened up slowly, light seeping into his eyes and forcing them shut. He opened them again to find himself on a soccer field in the middle of the day. A look up showed him to be in a colony. His home.

"Where…am I?" Scion asked himself as he achingly sat up and stood slowly. He wiped his brow and looked down at the ground.

"Hey, Scion, over here!" Scion looked to the source of the voice to see a team of kids calling to a much younger Scion. A fourteen year old version of himself waved as he ran unto the field and huddled together with his teammates.

The older Scion looked at the group with mass confusion on his face. He felt his forehead to make sure he wasn't having feverish hallucinations.

**It's you…yourself.**

Scion turned around rapidly to see another of himself. The naïve boy that didn't know the difference between the two races of men when he saw Coordinators like he did Naturals. He looked up at Scion and pointed to his teenage self again andthe present Scion turned to watch.

"Hey, can we play?" Three other boys asked. Scion recognized them as Mizuki, Shin, and Oboro, they were coordinators.

"Let you play? You are all cheaters, we can't let you play!" The teenage Scion spat at them, all of the other boys making some comment about how they were freaks.

"What do you mean cheaters! We don't cheat!" Mizuki said.

"You're a Coordinators! You cheated out on life! You just change yourselves unnaturally so you don't have to work as hard as us! Get out of here!" Scion said as he kicked a soccer ball at the three, Oboro it off course.

"No, stop!" The present Scion called to them.

**Why are you stopping them? You hate them…don't you?**

"What? No, I don't hate them!"

**You did, you hated them more then anything else in the world. You still hate them.**

"No…I was just scared of them.." Scion said as he looked down at the ground as if unsure of himself.

**You hated them so much, you joined the military to fight them. To kill them.**

"No, it wasn't like that! I just wanted to show them I could be just as good as them! I didn't want to kill anyone!" Scion yelled out as the scene in front of him faded out and he was thrust into space, staring at Junius Seven….just as it exploded.

Scion watched as the team that he protected launched the nuclear warheads that destroyed the colony. The same nukes that were probably put unto his own machine without his knowledge. The massacre he helped create. The disaster that sent so many young Coordinators to war and to their future deaths. More lives lost because of him.

"This…this isn't my fault! I didn't know.." Scion dropped to two knees and tried to grab a doll that floated underneath him, but his hand passed right through him.

**Liar. You would have done it yourself, because you were so intent on showing them up. You wanted to kill them, you joined the military didn't you? Did you think it was just a game? That 'this' was just a game?**

Scion's head shot up and stared at the vision of him as an EA mobile armor pilot. He stood in his pilot suit and looked back at the carnage before staring back at the current Scion.

**You just weren't lucky enough to get the job.**

"Its not true! I wouldn't have done this!"

**Why not? You only seem worried about it 'after' the fact. You've always seemed to kill others so that you can survive.  
**

"I didn't kill anyone to save myself! I never asked anyone to die for me!"

**Violet did. She died because you left her behind in the EA. Because of your selfish decision to just leave everything behind. You left her alone. Just like Axle. They died because you refused to accept your failures…and ran. Violet died looking for you and Axle killed because he lost the last anchor he had with his humanity.  
**

Again the room changed and he was staring at himself and Axle as they saw the entrance of the Doctor. He watched in horror as he saw himself shoot his best friend and himself shoot eachother He watched as Axle fell to the ground dead and he slide along the wall to the floor with a minor wound.

"I don't want to see this! Stop it!" Scion yelled as he turned from the scene and tried to run for the door only to be stopped by the image of another Axle. The room changed to black around them, leaving them both alone.

**You always ran away. You hated the Coordinators so you were mean to them to hide your jealously. You went to the military to run away from any Coordinators and then you ran from us because of your shame for realizing your pitiful failures and childish jealous. You've always run away!**

Axle stepped forward and gripped Scion's shirt. Axle's hard and determined face heavily contradicted the confused and unsure Scion. Suddenly Scion became defiant with a intense need to defend himself, to somehow dig himself out of a hole he had dug by his running.

"What would you have me do! Huh? I lost everything that I worked for in my life to them! You hated them too!" Scion yelled until the reality of what he said hit him. Axle gritted his teeth and threw Scion to the ground.

**I didn't run though, I knew my feelings and did what I thought was right. You still hate them, you are just running away from those feelings. Pretending to be something you aren't! You are running from who you really are by trying to fight for them and Naturals! You're just fraud!  
**

Scion stared at Axle and shook his head slowly, not wanting to believe what was obvious now. The fires of hate in his heart that he had hidden so well by pretending to be so high and mighty. The jealously of not being better…the best. The feelings that were buried in the debris of Junius Seven but never put out smoldered back into existence.

Scion looked down at the ground as the black room shifted again and now he was in the air above Doctor Takashi's facility where Revolution was created.

"_Scion! This is Takashi. Dodge the shot, I got a plan."_

"_You sure!" _

"_Very."_

"NO!" Scion yelled at himself as he watched Revolution move aside, trusting that Takashi did indeed have a plan. He tried to run to his machine and somehow make this end differently. But no matter how hard or fast he ran he could never catch up with that machine. He was forced to watch it all over again. The second great trauma of his life.

Scion looked at the ground and then Axle who stared at Scion without any remorse. Scion stood and ran to grab Axle by the collar. He pulled him close to his face and yelled at Axle so loud that he spit in his former friends face.

"HOW COULD YOU UNDERSTAND? YOU WHO DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING TO LOSE!" Scion's right cheek was slammed with a fist that sent him to his rear.

Scion looked back up to see that Axle was gone and the good doctor in his place. The white trench coat man stood with his hands in his pockets and a sad expression gracing his face.

**You've fallen Scion. I had hoped you would grow up.**

"I'm did Doctor! I'm doing what you wanted!" Scion said as he placed a hand on his cheek. He sat on his rear unable to right himself with the constantly changing images and scenes around him.

**Fool! My dream is not just an end to this war, its an end to the conflict! You'll have to go to the root of the source!**

The doctor walked up to Scion and pointed directly at Scion's heart with an outstretched finger and glared angrily.

**How can you change anything when you can't accept yourself. My dream was not a world of people that only **'**acted' like they cared. I want a world where they honestly, truly, care. **

"I'm trying. But, I've done so much bad! Everyone I try to help I end up losing!" Scion stood on shaky feet. He put both hands on the doctors shoulders. "What do I need to do?" The doctor sighed and shook his head.

**Its time you grew up Scion. Stop living in the past and make your own choices and make your own road. Time to face up to everything you've done, acknowledge it, accept it, and then move on. **

"I don't know how. I try to protect people as much as I can but I always mess it up."

**You fear failure so much, just like when you failed that poor girl Flay, you are so utterly scared that all your efforts will be in vain, but it is in this failure that you've learned how precious life is.  
**

The scene changed yet again to Scion as he slammed the Strike towards the Archangel, right before he himself was rocked by the explosions of his own funnels, sending him away but possibly saving the Strike.

He watched his from inside his pilot seat, as if he was reliving it again. Inside he smiled, knowing that maybe he had truly grown up a little on the inside and done some good. A single tear streamed down his face.

**Just like in Science, you must fail to eventually make the experiment work. **

"Yeah, no more promises. Just the oath to do what I can and nothing more." Scion said as his machines plummeted to the earth and then...

-----------

**February 3, C.E. 71**

**Orb Union, Secret Location, 12:00 P.M**

"Ugh…This is intolerable." Shigen Hatake said to himself as he lounged back on the couch. The man had been restless ever since his little adventure in space had brought him pilot the strange machine, Clarity, and found in himself a strange desire to pilot again.

From the time of that incident to now Shigen had been used repeatedly to test the MS and complete the OS for natural use. When asked how he could pilot the machine so easily he laughed and simple stated that he set it up as if he was going to pilot it himself. It was a habit of his to get in the mind of the pilot when designing an OS for use.

Even so, Erica Simmons seemed to be very wary of letting Shigen get anywhere near the Clarity for some reason. Not only that but he noticed some other oddities as well. One, there was a strange number of transmissions to the Junk Guild and some dealings with a Mercenary Band. Then there was the strange retrieval of the Gold Frame, which had been thought to be lost.

Add that to the fact that the Uzumi Athha's daughter had disappeared recently, then you have a very odd number of missing people, reappearing machines, and odd dealings in Orb. Frankly, Shigen didn't like it at all. He felt like this Union was no longer the place it had been when he moved here as a child.

Nonetheless he was happy about his current assignment. He was going to be given the Clarity on loan for a mission and training, though it was rumored that Erica was highly against it. The mission is to just scout for signs of ZAFT or EA influences in the neutral Equatorial Union and if so, to stop them before they take root...quietly of course.

He was going to traveling with a small group of people, disguised as members of the Junk guild, who are selling parts as they move further north to the Eurasian Federation Border where they would return to Orb and report any findings.

The reason for Shigen's current foul mood was that him and his crew of five could not figure out why the Orb Union would even be interested in this. The only person that would know would be the fifth person who refused to say anything at all about what he was told. And why use Clarity? What did the Union think would be out there anyway? Would would cause them to think they would need something like a prototype to deal with?

Later that day they moved out for their mission. Shigen was again allowed to see Clarity and it didn't take him long to put himself into the cockpit of that machine and ready himself for whatever little bumps in the road they would have. And frankly, he was kind of excited.

-------------

**Unknown Location , Time Unknown**

"HUH?" Scion stammered as he abruptly sat up from a very strange dream. He stared at his lap as the sweat on his forehead trickled down his face and into his lap. He breathed heavily from the sudden ending of his dreaming. He sighed to himself and rubbed his forehead and looked about himself. He as in a small bed with a curtain drawn around him.

"Oh, you are awake?" A elderly female voice sounded out.

"Yeah…" Scion said, not feeling well enough to question about his surroundings.

"The Doctor was sure you would die, said that no one short of a Coordinator could survive a fall like that."

"Yeah...well...here I am."

"That's what I said. I had no doubt in you at all. After all, you are my son." The curtain was drawn back slowly and to Scion's immense surprise his mother stood before him, in a kind of rustic nurse outfit. Her hair was held back in a tight bun and had grayed quite a bit from when he last saw her a little more then a year ago. She came and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her son and looked at him closely before feeling his forehead.

"No fever, you've been sleeping for two and a half days straight, sweating, talking in your sleep, and crying. I worried about you." She started.

Scion shook his head slowly and looked up at his mother then rubbed his eyes and shook his head once more before looking at his mother long and hard.

"Mother…what…what are you doing here?" Scion asked dumbfounded.

"A year ago I was told that my son, my only son, had died.." She began her answer, "I don't know how long I stayed in my depression but after I came out of it I knew that I had to leave the colonies and the war. But when I reached Earth and saw the devastation caused by the War I felt that I had to help in some way, just like my brave boy who wanted to fight for his beliefs. So, I joined a small humanitarian group and have been helping the wounded innocents and soldiers ever since."

Scion looked down into his lap with a small hint of guilt nagging at him. He knew that he should have said something to him mother…anything. He wanted to tell her he was trying to protect her but he knew that was a lie, that he was just running away from his shame and the task of telling him mother what her son had committed.

He was a coward.

"I'm sorry mother." Scion croaked before his mouth shut on him.

"You should be. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the mobile suit that fell out of the sky was piloted by my son! My son that was supposed to be dead!" She stood up and got a cup of water for herself and then one for Scion before sitting back on the bed, setting Scion's cup on a dresser next to the bed. "So do you mind explaining this to me?"

Scion looked away from his mother, not able to look the women in the eyes, shame welling up inside of him. Despite his want not to run or hide he couldn't help but want to do it one more time. Just once more for this special occasion. His hands turned into fists and his gritted his teeth.

"Mother…I'm not your sweet little boy anymore. This war…so much has happened. So very much." Scion began sheepishly, looking down at his sheets as the few tears that escaped him fell unto the sheets below, despite his best efforts to hide them.

"There is nothing that would make me ever think any less of you. You are my child, I will always love you." His mother curtly answered, oblivious of the magnitude of what Scion was talking about. Blind to the atrocities that had been committed in the in the war by Scion's hands or very close to them.

Scion's tears began to fall steadily faster as he gripped the sheets and looked up at his strict but loving mother, the one that had pushed him to excel at everything but never neglected him, only pushed him. The person who he looked up too so much he could not stand the thought of failing her. And he had failed her.

"But…ah, god mother." Scion said with a unsteady breath. "I've done so much bad!"

------------

**February 2, C.E. 71 (One Day Ago)**

**Inside the Clyne Residence**, **2:00 P.M.**

Siegel Clyne sat at his desk typing away at his personal computer when he pulled away to take a small break. He looked at the few scattered articles that he had brought in to see what the media was saying about the war between ZAFT and the EA. It was always a good idea to know what the public would think.

As he scanned over the room he stopped on a picture of Lacus in her youth, six years of age to be exact. How alike she seemed in that picture to the present version of herself who continues to astound him with her sometimes child like nativity.

He picked the picture up and studied it for a moment before the smile on his face fell to a slight frown. He turned his seat to make sure that the door behind him was closed before opening the picture frame that held Lacus's picture and slowly removed it, placing it on the desk. He then studied the picture that was hidden behind it. The picture that he had not looked on since that day.

The picture contained Siegel, Lacus age four, and one other man. They stood in front of the Clyne estate on a beautiful spring day. It had been Lacus's birthday that day and Siegel stood holding the bike that Lacus had just gotten from the man in the picture who was bending over to accept a hug from the ecstatic girl. The picture was captured by pure chance but Siegel kept it because of that reason. It had been the last time he saw that man before that fateful day.

As he looked it over he heard the door behind him open and Siegel abruptly slammed the picture frame down on the desk before he turned to the door that had opened slightly.

"….Haro?" A blue Haro spoke as it showed itself to the relieved Clyne. He made a hand motion to shoo the thing away and it sadly complied. Siegel turned around in his chair and sighed deeply. He rubbed his temple and tried to calm his paranoia.

"Father, are you alright? I heard a banging noise?" Lacus suddenly peeped up beside her father, slipping in through the opened door. Siegel jumped in his seat and took a deep breath.

"Oh, yes, I just dropped something. You shouldn't sneak up on people like that, Lacus."

"I'm sorry father, I didn't mean to startle you. Oh, why is this frame face down?" Lacus questioned as she reached for the picture. Siegel tried to intercept his daughter but found quickly found that his daughters hand was much quicker.

"Who is this, father? I don't recall knowing him." Lacus asked as she set the picture down.

"…He stopped coming here a long time ago, Lacus. He was an old friend of mine, you wouldn't remember him. I'm in the middle of something, Lacus, I'll be done in a few moments." Siegel answered.

"Oh, I see. Well then, I'll leave you to your work." Lacus smiled and waved before leaving the room with her blue Haro following behind.

Siegel took up the picture again. He remembered to the last time he had ever met that man. He put the frame down and slipped Lacus's picture back into the frame, covering the strange picture.

"Oh...I'm am so sorry. So very sorry…I wish you could have seen him…Kiyo."

----------

**February 3, C.E. 71**

**Eurasian Federation, Health Camp, 12:00 P.M**

"Currently we are stationed in the central part of the Eurasian Federation. We've been here for a few weeks helping refugees who have fled here by supplying food, shelter, and medical assistance. You were lucky we were close enough to get to you before the military did…you're even luckier to have lived that fall." The director of the humanitarian group named Health said as he pointed to a small map of the world.

"Could you tell where the other mobile suits, and the ship fell?" A composed Scion asked. He spent a few hours composing himself before his mother sent him off to speak with the director.

"We can only guess with the technology we have. We can assume that the two farthest from the ship and the mobile suit you collided with will end up somewhere near Spain. As for the mobile suit, the explosion that occurred sent it plummeting in a southern direction, the ship followed after it. We can only guess but we can bet that they landed somewhere in Nigeria, which is ZAFT territory."

Scion cursed under his breath and waited as the man brought up a small map of the Africa Community. He pointed to a large section of the map.

"These area's are states that have banded together into a rebel group called the Desert Dawn, a small bunch of commoners who are trying to fight against their oppressors. We were there a short while ago and through a few contacts, and thank your mother for this since I owed her the favor, we found out that for one reason or another we believe that this Archangel is fighting with the Desert Dawn against the Desert Tiger. I assume you know who he is?"

Scion nodded again and stood as he was told to approach the world map again, this time the man drew a line from Nigeria to the Red Sea then to Orb.

"Making it to Alaska for any ship without any help would be insane. So, its my bet that they will break through to the East, over the Ocean, and then maybe to Orb Union. Can't say for sure if Orb is there destination but they will defiantly head East and to the Red Sea where ZAFT influence will be thin since they don't take land thoughtlessly and the ocean is hard to patrol. So if you want to intercept them you'll have to make your way south to the Neutral Equatorial Union where you will hopefully find them as they pass through it, and if not then head to Orb. From there you hope you find your friends. Of course this is all assuming they survive their battles with the Desert Tiger." The man smacked the table and went to grab a cigar, lighting it as soon as he obtained it.

"..Great. Okay, we I have a route now, what about my machine?" Scion asked.

"We have a few Coordinators who used to be engineers who repaired most of the surface damage but we don't have the same alloy that you have on the rest of the machine, plus, those Funnels of yours…. We don't have a damn clue how to help you with those. You'll have to go with what we have to offer and be damn thankful. We are a group against the war, and helping you really ticks me off. If your mother wasn't such a good nurse we'd throw you out to the dogs."

Scion grunted as he studied the map again, he had a long way to go and had to hope against hope that the Archangel could hold out until he got to them. His crew men were on that ship and they were the only ones that knew how to repair Revolution to its full strength. His current combat ability was shot to shit thanks to his little plummet through the atmosphere and leaving it that way was not an option.Infact it was damn lucky that they picked up a peice of solar paneling from that mobile that feld Heliopolis, his crew copied it and made solar function for him machine just before the battle with the 8th Fleet. If he didn't have that his machine wouldn't have any power right now.

From what Scion could gather he must have subconsiously piloted the machine down to Earth, using the thrusters to somewhat break the fall he had into a swallow lake, which further broke his fall. Scion concluded that it must have been the lake that cooled his machine down quickly enough for him to be retrieved and treated as swiftly as he was.

He spent the remainder of the day getting his thoughts together before packing up and heading to his mobile suit, deciding that time was nothing something he had a lot of. As he reached it he found his mother at the foot of his machine. She smiled at him as she held a wrapped present in her hands.

"I knew you'd be leaving today so I hurried around and was able to get you this. Open it." Scion's mother, who knew that her son would be leaving as soon as he possibly could and was not going to simply let him leave without something resembling a mother's love.

On top of that she was concerned about her son's outburst earlier about committing bad. He sobbed for ten minutes before regaining himself and she just didn't know enough to console him. So she just hoped that the present that her son was currently unwrapping would be a sign of encouragement for him.

The package unwrapped and the box opened revealed an azure and white helmet, mimicking the paint design of Revolution. It appeared to be a refurbished helmet that an EA soldier might have lost. The cushion on the inside was completely redone and the visor fixed up a little as well. Scion looked at his mother who looked back into the box, prompting to Scion to look again and find a pilots suit that had been re-colored and spiffed up as well.

"I had your measures taken while you slept and had them ready for you when you left. Somehow I had a feeling you would be leaving as soon as you woke up." She told Scion who looked it over oddly, not really sure what to say about it. He just smiled and slid his hands around the helmet, finding a small batch of scratches on the back of the helmet that must have been too hard to be fixed. Scion smiled and told his mother he would change in the cock-pit of his machine.

"Thanks mother. What are you going to do now?" Scion asked as he came out of the cock-pit again in the slightly loose fitting suit, his helmet tucked underneath his right arm.

"I've decided I'll wait for you in Orb, I'll go there by civilian means so I won't be hassled like you will. I'll probably beat you to Orb as well. Once there I hope we can spend a day or two together. This mother wants to know what her son has been up too and see what forces you to leave so soon."

Scion scratched the back of his head and nodded as he put the helmet on. He tried the visor and found it to work well. He nodded and once again entered his machine. He waved to his mother and then closed himself inside the heart of his war machine.

The Revolution quickly passed beyond the sight of Scion's mother, Mari Kazuma, wished her son a farewell and wiped a few tears, that she had hid until now, from her eyes and turned back to do her duties until she was able to get transportation to the Orb Union. She just hoped that the her thoughts would go with him and that those new clothes would grant him some pertection. She also prayed that Scion would find that light he once had as a child.

--------

**February 3, C.E. 71**

**Equatorial Union, On Route to Eurasian Federation Border, 12:00 P.M**

"Hey, guys. Listen to this." A staff member said to her small crew who quickly huddled around, minus the driving of their small trailer that housed Clarity and a few spare Junk parts to sell if they needed something to show they were 'Junk' dealers.

**All free units are to report to Shiraz. I repeat, target is moving south and all free units are too report as quickly as possible. This is not a drill, target is moving south and must be intercepted before crossing the border. This is not a drill.**

The four man group, Shigen included, all looked at one another with a confused look. Thanks to Orb's advanced technology it had been easy to eavesdrop on the Eurasian broadcasts. They had been listening for any signs of movement that seemed out of place and now that they found something it seem obscure.

"Target, eh? Think it has anything to do with that 'Falling Star with Burning Wings' the locals have been talking about?" The female radio operator asked.

"I don't know, but its moving towards the border and they don't want it to get there. If they want it that bad the pursuit may spill over into this country. We had been request permission to cross the border into the Euro Federation." Shigen said looking to the commander for approval.

"There is no need to radio the Union for permission. We will proceed directly to Shiraz, Iran, and find out what this 'target' is." He answered.

"What? That would be breaking their treaty. Just like Orb, they have a strict policy about trespassing! What if they find us and then the EA attack us with that excuse!"

"Hayate, you are here to pilot that machine. You aren't here to argue with me. You are to do your job and your job is to shoot down hostilities and protect this crew. Do not contradict me again!" He cut the air with his hand before demanding that everyone return to their stations.

Shigen walked up to the commander and whispered, "What's going on? First, we are given a rather vague mission and then say we don't need the councils consent to enter another their country outside of the original plan? You know something that we don't and I want to know what."

The commander chuckled softly, "This is war, Hayate. Don't expect to know everything and don't pursue what you are not told. You will end up dead like that. Return to your post, soldier." He remarked before returning to his station, the passenger seat beside the driver.

Shigen stared at the ground before quietly making his exit. He kicked the wall as soon as he was in the trailer with the 'machine'. He cursed too, now knowing that something was definitely amiss about this entire thing.

"Damn it, how much more is Orb going to get involved in national affairs? Didn't we learn anything from Heliopolis!" He kicked the wall again and then sat in a small seat to let his anger boil to a simmer. After a moment he took a large breath and a long sigh.

"Ever since Heliopolis things just haven't been the same. It must be really getting to me if I'm getting this angry so quickly. Too many council members are doing things on their own accord now..." He looked up at the machine that was in front of him, the machine that had been thought to be the only fruits of the project in Heliopolis before the Gold Frame showed up.

"And its because of you things….why the hell did we create such cursed machines?" Shigen cursed under his breath and kicked the air as he slunk down in his seat and walked around in his mind. His only comforts was that maybe this 'Falling Star' would be the target and maybe that star would be able to grant his wish and give him some answers to the chaos that had sprung up around him.

He was pretty sure he was too young for this kind of drama.

---------

**Author's Notes: **Sorry about the long coming update, I got seriously sidetracked with my trip to Texas, its hot there too. But anyway, this reminds me of one of those chapters in SEED where they backtrack a bit, even though there isn't any backtracking. One of my goals for this chapter was too give you a look into what was running amok in Scion's mind, give you a look into what is going beneath the soldier on the outside. Hopefully you can get an understanding of some of his actions. Of there there is the Siegel mystery as well.

I was also hoping that you all hadn't forgotten about Shigen here, well if you have then its okay since he wasn't big when he appeared.

But alright, I don't really think there is anything more to mention about this except that this chapter has Scion with an ill repaired machine because of the absence of his crew and materials. It made me realize how strange it was the crews of the Archangel, or any of the main warships always had enough materials to repair the ship and the Strike, makes you wonder what would have happened if the crew died, probably the death of the entire ship. XP

Anyway, hopefully I got the bugs out. I'm on the rush again and hopefully the next update will come sooner then this one took.

-Arc.


	19. The First Alliance

**Chapter 14: The First Alliance**

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_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**February 9, C.E. 71**

**Eurasian Federation, On Route to Equatorial Union, 5:00 P.M.**

"Argh!" Scion yelled as he shot another mobile armor out of the sky. He turned just in time to avoid a barrage of missiles, let loose by the remainder of the five man squad. Scion turned his attention to them and continued combat.

For the past four days Scion had been intercepted and attacked by the Eurasian Federation's forces. Scion had heard about the incident at Artemis from Mir when he was onboard the Archangel and using that information, he was willing to bet that the Eurasian Federation would give anything to have a Prototype of their own. The constant attacks were evident that he was right.

He had hoped that the first two days of peace he had after leaving Health was a sign that he was making progress and would continue to do so peacefully for the rest of his trip. But on reaching a town called Shiraz he was attacked by a large attack force, of some twenty or so mobile armors.

Even after defeating half the force and escaping they still continued pursuit, sending new machines in to relieve old ones. Scion would at best receive only four or five hours of peace before another attack came. The lack of sleep was starting to wear on him, the fear and paranoia kept him from even thinking of sleeping for fear of a surprise attack, and the constant thought of the Archangel kept him moving forward despite his lack of sleep.

But Revolution had taken the majority of the damage, Scion had been very careful to minimize damage but splash damage from missiles had caused several distinguishable wounds on his machine. The repaired leg was slow, his shield have been destroyed some time back, and the paint on his machine was gone, leaving his machine in a dark and gray color scheme.

On top of all this was that he didn't have his funnels with him so his combat ability was severely cut. Scion didn't know how long his machines frame would hold before he bit the dust. The only good thing on his side was that the Mobile Armors they used were pretty much targets in the sky for him and could be easily and quickly taken down.

After a half hour of fighting he was again clear of enemies for the time. Scion then made his best effort to hide so he could sleep, if only for a few hours. Despite the fact that he wouldn't sleep very well his body was now demanding it. He had to rest somewhere.

_Got to hide somewhere. _Scion sighed as he looked at the map. He was coming to the ruins of New Delhi, a town that was destroyed by the N-Jammer drop, it was unlucky enough to have one drop right on their heads. Thankfully, there was a warning prior to the drop and no lives were lost.

On reaching the town he was immediately sent a com-link. Shingen hesitated to answer at first but decided to respond on the off chance that it was some help…of any kind.

"I'm listening…" Scion spoke first over the open link.

"Pilot of the Prototype. We would like to talk to you in private. There is a small enclave not far from here with equipment set up to block radio frequencies. We would like you to join us." An older man answered.

"Uh huh, and why should I trust you?" Scion returned, unconvinced.

"Because, I was a close friend of the good doctor that masterminded that machine you pilot."

_What? No way…He can't expect me to believe this garbage. But…what if he's telling the truth? I might be able to get Revolution repaired…_ Scion sighed and after a quick berating of himself responded, "Alright, send me the coordinates. But if I sense anything out of the ordinary I'm going to blow the hell out of everything around me."

"Fair enough, I'm glad to see that the pilot isn't an overly trusting person. A decent douse of paranoia is good for a person that wields power like those machines."

A data-link was sent and the destination acquired, the com-link died as soon as the transfer was made. Scion began maneuvering his machine to the northern side of the city, or what was left of it. Everything was in basic ruin, half collapsed buildings, rubble everywhere, and the stench of despair still hung in the air around this place even though no lives had been lost. Scion couldn't help but feel reminded of Junius Seven and his bond to the greatest atrocity of the war.

Arriving at the predetermined location brought him to an old abandoned pile of rubble. Scion felt duped at first but no sooner had he begun to leave did the fake rubble slide away to show a passage into the depths. A quick scan of his radar and a visual look around him lead him to believe he was for a moment safe. He walked his machine down the slanted path.

Some short distance down he found himself in what looked to be a small research lab, hidden from the worlds view. He saw a number of men with flashing batons guide him to the west side to be docked. He knelt Revolution down and descended down to the ground.

"Welcome, Pilot, to our humble lab. I take it, you and that machine are all that is left of Takashi's Dream. His Legacy. I am Professor Akita Musashi." A rather old man spoke. He held himself up on a sturdy looking walking stick and was garbed in what looked to be a Buddhist's attire, that seemed to have been through months or years of wear. The rest of the crew wore more civilian type attire though they had the same wear as the man before him.

"..I'm Scion Kazuma and the machine behind me is dubbed Revolution. I'd like you to--"

"Revolution! Hah, yes, he would have liked that name." Akita cut him off. He walked up to the machine and put a hand on its right leg, "My, you have been through an ordeal have you not?" The old man smile, slapped the leg, and then turned to Scion.

"Come, come, you must be tired. You are safe here for the time being. We don't have much in the way of minerals, and less in what makes this machine. But I believe we can at least fix that damaged leg to some extent. You should rest, we have much to talk about." The machine motioned for Scion to follow as a few men scrambled to repair what they could.

"Wait, first tell me how you are connected with Takashi!" Scion said as he ran to catch up with Akita who moved with surprising speed and youthfulness.

"Oh, well, I was his…shall we say, biggest supporter in terms of funding and manpower, at least I was after the council moved on to Prototypes that the EA were going to develop. I also helped in some of the advanced functions of the machine."

"Then…what are you doing here?" Scion questioned again, still very lost.

"Oh, I left Takashi's lab a long time ago and came here. To research the N-Jammers that ZAFT dropped on Earth. We've made great progress I must say, this hole place runs on a very small nuclear powered generator, though it only works because it is so small. We haven't broken through enough to make use of larger generators. But enough questions for now, this is your quarters, we had some food prepared for you in advance. Rest for a while and later we may talk, then you can be on your way. I know you are in a rush somewhere so I won't hold you long."

"But…" Scion started but was stopped by the old man with a raise of his hand. He pointed to the room and left quickly.

_Oh man…what have I gotten myself into?_ Scion reluctantly resigned himself into the care of that man and hoped that his story was true. Walking into the room he found only the bare necessities and the same went for the meal, evidently most of the mans funds had gone into the Revolution. He munched on the dry bread and day old meat before laying down on a hard bed. But despite it being uncomfortable the lack of sleep, fear, and constant fighting, instantly overtook Scion and he was sent into a deep sleep.

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**February 10, C.E. 71**

**Eurasian Federation and Equatorial Union Border, 3:00 A.M.**

"Still nothing, no heat sources of any kind, sir." The radar operator of Shigen's crew said.

Unexpected interruptions had stalled them from making any progress towards Shiraz, so instead of wasting time and heading there the group decided to lay in wait on the border between the Eurasian and Equatorial nations. They could only hope the target made it this far.

For the past few days the Commander had been given off a dark vibe, as if some guilt was nagging at him. None of the crew would say anything about it, but, whenever a part of the mission came into question the commander always snapped at them angrily.

Today though he seemed more on edge then ever, and it became more evident in his lack of commands and remarks to anything that happened around him. All at once though the man rose and spoke loudly to everyone.

"Alright, listen up everyone. I've gotten the feeling that most of you are wondering what this mission is. I've seen Hatake first hand try and scare it out of me." The commanding officer said. "Truthfully I don't like hiding things from my Co-workers but I was specifically ordered to do so. But with this being a Cat and Mouse game I think you all need to know so you don't do anything to mess the mission up. Plus…its been eating away at me for a while now."

Everyone in the room turned, Shigen was the quickest to listen up.

"For one reason or another, a few members of the Council want us to retrieve the 'Falling Star'. They believe it is a Prototype machine of some kind. But the machine is not the important thing, what is important to us is the pilot. We have need of the pilot and his knowledge of some past events, something that a few council members want. I don't know anything more then that…we are to persuade the pilot to come to Orb and I was given the terms to present to him when we come into contact with him."

"So that's why I'm here? And Clarity? Because we might have to fight?" Shigen asked.

"Exactly, we know for a fact that these machines are extremely powerful and to beat it you would need a machine of similar quality." He answered indifferently.

"Why keep this secret though?" The radio operator asked.

"Politics, they don't want this leaking out. From what I can gather, there must be a liability with this machine. This machine or the pilot must have some connection to Orb and we don't want ZAFT, the EA, or anyone else to find out what that connection is."

"Do they think this person can endanger Orb's Neutral stance?" Shigen thought out loud.

"That seems to be the case…which was why I was so harsh to you earlier, Hatake. The council scared me into thinking it was a matter of national security. You'll have to forgive me for acting how I did. I was scared of the thought of Orb being dragged into the war." Shigen nodded in understanding. He too, along with the other, didn't want Orb to be dragged into this war. But something in Shigen was excited, the pilot in him wanted the action, wanted the chance to spread its wings and fly high behind the controls of Clarity and machines like it. More then that, he felt like the world was changing around him and he was sitting on the sidelines doing nothing.

Shigen stamped out the thought, telling himself that war was evil and he was not a war monger. He excused himself to get a drink of water and to cool his silly thoughts. Only a fool wanted war openly, and Shigen was no fool.

Or so he hoped.

----------

**February 10, C.E. 71**

**Eurasian Federation, Border, 12:10 .M.**

"Damn it." Scion spat at himself as he sprang out of his quarters, finding that he had slept over half a day's worth. He needed to hurry if he wanted to intercept the Archangel!

A quick search and a few questions lead him to Akita's office. He was then ushered inside by an aid who stood at the door. Scion stepped in to see the old man behind a computer on his desk. He looked up at Scion and smiled.

"Ah, afternoon lad. Sleep well?"

"Yeah, yeah. Look, I'm sorry but I really have to go!" Scion stammered.

"Youth always rush. I'm surprised you don't have any questions for me."

"Believe me, I do, but I don't have the time!"

"Of course, of course. Well, let me give you this. The reason I called you here." He took a small disk from his computer and walked over to Scion and put it firmly in the palm of the younger man.

"What's on here?"

"Nothing, just a list of keywords. Like I said before, I helped with advanced functions of the Revolution. But three of these functions, Takashi decided, were to be hidden until a pilot had been found and had been in use of the machine for a long time."

"I don't get it…"

**-Chuckle­-** "You see, the Psycho-Frame, after extensive use will take on an imprint of your mind. Your brainwaves, etc. it's a failsafe if you will, to keep others from stealing it from you and using it to its full ability. Well, like that failsafe, these functions are hidden. I hid two of them and Takashi hid the last."

"Why did you hide them?"

"Well, call it paranoia, but it goes along with Takashi's little dream of Universal peace. In order to get them you must be able to go to the three locations described. One location is an EA controlled territory, on an EA military database. Another is in Orb, hidden inside Morgenroete and its databases. The third is in Zaft somewhere, Takashi hid this one and it will no doubt be a specific place or person that has it. The point is to be able to go to each place safely to gain them, you see it don't you? Only someone fighting for the interest of both Coordinators and Naturals could get into ZAFT, the EA, and Orb. "

"So…I have to break into these places?"

"Not so much. The idea is to gain influence in each nation, gain allies in each, and then gain the functions through your allies. I hid both of my upgrades in military installations so if anyone came across it they would think it was some secret weapon in development. Takashi though, would most likely be more secretive. That disc has a number of keywords to help you locate the file and gain the blueprints or information on the upgrades."

Scion sighed and rubbed his head, "So is there another reason they were hidden? A more reasonable one?"

"Well, yes. One of the upgrades is one for the Funnels, the second for the Psycho-Frame, and the last…Takashi's own, is the Limit Releaser. Though I can't say what that means, I can only guess. They were hidden in the hopes that the full potential of the machine would never have to be realized, that the war could be stopped without them. With all three upgrades the Revolution as you call it could perform, theoretically, at twice its current combat potential."

Scion sighed again at the number of puzzles surrounded him. He pocketed the disk and bowed his hand in thanks, "Thanks…I suppose. Anyway, I should get going."

"Yes, yes, I assume we will never meet again. I pray we don't, I've grown tired of this war and want nothing to do with it anymore. Sorry to drag you here, I figured that since Takashi died he wasn't able to pass the information on to you. So I did as a last task in the project I helped him undertake. But, good luck on your voyage, whatever it may be."

Scion nodded and then turned to walked out the door. He felt the disk in his pocket and was now slightly interested in this 'upgrades' he wondered what kind of abilities they would unlock? And he also wondered who else had been involved in Takashi's project and how he was too gain allies? He supposed that Cagalli might be able to help him in Orb and Seigel might be able to help him with the Zaft Upgrade, the one in the EA though, would be difficult.

"Oh, Scion." Scion turned to the man once more, "You…haven't heard of the Ultimate Coordinator Project, have you?" He spoke with his back turned to Scion.

"Uh, no. Why?"

"No reasons…. Just a fleeting thought is all. Good luck, Scion."

Scion looked over his shoulder once more in confusion before exiting the room and leaving the man to look at his work in front of him. Ultimate Coordinator Project? What an odd thing to ask.

Back in the room the old man sighed and sat down at his desk again. He stared at the open doorway that Scion had left through.

"So, he is still unaware. No, I suppose Seigel wouldn't have told him. After all, a guilty conscious is a powerful force on ones mind."

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**February 11, C.E. 71**

**Eurasian Federation, Border, 3:00 P.M.**

"Contact! We have multiple heat signatures! Mass Mobile Armors and one unknown!" The radar operator called out.

"This is it, Shigen, launch and support the Unknown! We aren't carrying the Orb colors so we can fight out here like normal! Launch at once!" The commander yelled at Shigen as he took to his machine and exited the large trailer.

The Clarity rose from its laying down position and jetted to a small forested area. It took aim with its new, unnamed, Ground-to-Air, mass missile launcher. Shigen gripped his controls as he locked on to multiple targets at once. Shigen had to wait for the right opening. He was forced to watch as the machine took severe hits.

_Oh geez, it looks like a heap of rubble!_ Whatever had happened to the target it was no longer in fighting position. It's right leg sparked madly and seemed to be held together by different types of metals. Evidently this machine came from wherever it landed to here without any significant repairs. This was very bad.

_Okay…this is it. Now!_ Shigen hit the leaped into the air, the battle visible in the distance and quickly fired off the whole payload of missiles. They streaked across the sky and hit every target they sought, due to the machine keeping them busy.

It was in the middle of that air that Shigen realized that the machine was the same one he saw in space. The mobile suit that caused him to pilot in the first place! Shigen landed his machine and dropped the launcher, counting ten mobile armors left, half of them turning to combat Shigen.

"Okay, lets go." Shigen told himself as he retrieved his Beam Cannon and took aim with it, the miniature magnum let off a large blast that destroyed two machines that were flying close together. Shigen then turned his attention to the next three and quickly dealt with them in the same fashion.

"Shigen! The machine is down! I repeat the target is down!" Shigen turned his attention to the Revolution and just like he was told he the machine was face first in the ground. One of its legs had been completely blown off and it could no longer right itself in Earth's Gravity.

"Damn it." Shigen spat as he sprang forth, unleashing his Beam Rifle (I'll refer to it as a Magnum from now on) and destroyed another. The arrival of Shigen caused a retreat in the remaining four machines who left before they could be destroyed. Shigen piloted his machine over quickly and landed next to the Revolution, dropping his magnum and pushed the target over on its back so the pilot could be freed.

Once this was down he exited the cockpit and put his foot unto a hooked wench that lowered him to the ground. He climbed up on the arm of the target and ran over to the cockpit, when he looked inside he found a gun in his face.

"Back up, I'm getting out." The man told him. Shigen acted as he was told as the man clamored out of the machine. He sat down and after looking at Shigen put the gun away. "No point in that…its not like I'm going anywhere anyway…" The man said bitterly as he looked at his battered machine.

"Shigen!" The pilot of the mobile suit and Shigen both looked to see the Commander come forward in a jeep. He climbed out and met up with the two on top of Revolution. He had strangely come alone.

"Okay, you got me. So what now." The pilot said.

"First, how about introductions? We aren't enemies. We want to help you, we are from Orb. We believe this machine is also from Orb?" The Commander asked.

"Yeah, it is. As for me, I'm Scion, don't bother looking me up in a phonebook. You won't find me" Scion stood on his feet and looked to two over.

"I'm Shigen Hatake, we met--"

"Near Heliopolis, I remember." Scion cut in. "Just get on with what you are going to do?"

The commander and Shigen looked at each other and the man in charge cleared his throat. "Very well then. We want you and this machine to return to Orb. Lord Uzumi wants to speak with you personally on some manner."

"And in return for this?" Scion asked. It was obvious that he was distrusting of the two.

"Well, you aren't really in a position to refuse us. But, we will ensure your freedom and I was specifically told that you would retain the ownership of this machine."

At this Scion seemed surprised and even more distrusting then ever. Even Shigen was surprised that the machine they were standing on would be allowed to return to Scion's ownership. But just as suddenly as it was brought up did Scion laughed out loud moments later.

"Oh, I get it. I was worried there for a minute. Orb doesn't want anymore allegations about Prototype mobile suits. Not after Heliopolis, I get it now. Alright then, agreed...I suppose." Shigen saw him sigh and knew that he must have been resigning to something. Wherever the pilot was going he couldn't go there now. He must have been telling himself that he could no longer make his journey.

"Good, I'll get the crew prepped for the machine. It will take about an hour to make room for you. Shigen you stay here."

"Roger."

Shigen saluted as his commander left the scene as suddenly as he came. Now Shigen returned to Scion who had sat down once again. He seemed disappointed about something.

"Hey, Scion. If you don't mind, where were you going?"

"…To help some people who were important to me." He answered.

"I see." Shigen sat down as well and took out his wallet, "I joined Orb's military for that reason too. See? This is my Brother and his Girlfriend." Shigen tossed Scion the wallet with the pictures.

"Really? Let me…." Scion stopped as he looked at a picture, blinked, and then stood up in surprise. "This, this is Yumi! You know Yumi Akechi?" Scion asked as he tossed the wallet back.

"Yeah, she was my Brother's Girlfriend." He answered.

"Wow, she went to see….oh no. The 8Th Fleet…Yumi…she was on the 8Th Fleet when it was attacked!" Scion sank down into a sit again as he realized that the poor girl had probably died. He punched the metal underneath him angrily and then cursed loudly.

"What happened?" Shigen asked.

Scion retold the story of how she went unto the 8Th fleet and then how it was attacked by ZAFT. He made it short and brief since it was now a tender spot for him.

"I see…But…" Shigen stopped himself as he thought to himself.

"But, what?"

"My brother died almost a year ago after Junius Seven, and Yumi….she died too a while back. She was killed here, in Orb during a Blue Cosmos attack. She…couldn't have been with you." He spoke unsteadily.

"What? That's impossible.."

"No, I have the papers and everything. I even went to her funeral!" Shigen exclaimed.

"…Something…isn't right. If she's dead then why was she with Takashi…"

"I don't know. I'll try and find out sometime when I get back home. But, can I ask what she was doing with you?"

Reluctantly, Scion ended up telling his entire story to Shigen, minus the Junius Seven incident. The words just kept coming and coming once he got started, as if Scion had been needing an outlet for sometime, for someone to just listen. He went at it nonstop, the story of Axle, Takashi's dream, Revolution and why he was heading to Heliopolis, everything.

"She, always helped me. You know? She really believed in the Doctor's dream." Scion ended.

Shigen sat in silence for a long time. He seemed to be thinking about something, analyzing himself and taking in what Scion had said. After a while Shigen stood.

"You know what, Takashi reminds me of my brother. My brother wanted peace too and he fought for it and died for it. I want to fight for what my Older Brother stood for. I'm a Coordinator you know? He never got angry with me for being what I am." He walked over to Scion and extended his hand, "Let's be partners then, help each other make this world a better place, you for Takashi and me for my brotehr. You said you need allies right? I'll try and help you from within Orb, just give me the word and I'll do what I can."

Scion looked up at Shigen and instantly took his hand, "Yeah. Yeah! That's what I need, friends in other places! And you can help me right now." Scion searched in his pocket and pulled out the data disk, "Somewhere in Morgenroete is an upgrade for this machine, see if you can get a hold of it would you? These should help you search for it in the databases."

"Yeah, I'll look into it." Shigen said. Both men were stunningly excited, in the kind of way you are excited before you look at all the angles. A spur of the moment thing. Scion was happy to have a willing ally and Shigen was caught up in his brother's prior chivalry and the thought of a world where all Coordinators could have a Natural brother and there be no scars between the two.

They were genuinely excited about the adventure ahead of them, any thoughts of the burdens ahead were far from their mind. They thought only of the dream that was so far away but so beautiful that they couldn't help but reach for it.

They talked then for half an hour. Scion divulge more of this plan and the more he talked the more Shigen was drawn into it, the more he was excited by it. His thoughts of his brother and his own dreams seeped through him and sparked a fire that urged him to follow the flyer his brother was and fly towards Takashi's dream.

Scion stood up, "I have to get to the Archangel, I have to save my crewmen, they have stayed with me all this time!" Scion began walked and jumped off Revolution, Shigen followed behind.

"What are you going to do?" Shigen asked.

"I'm going to borrow that mobile suit for a while. Tell your boss that I'm taking it as a…sign of trust. I'll return it later to get Revolution, so I'll definitely come for it.. Just say you couldn't stop me or something, alright?" Scion asked, Shigen nodded.

"I'll do what I can. Just return it in one piece. Oh, and its Clarity!" Shigen said approvingly, not thinking of the possibly consequences that would be brought down on its head. He stopped to watch Scion get himself into the cock-pit, and close himself inside.

The machine rose upward and to its feet. The giant machine then turned itself south and without a word to Shigen it took off. Shigen smiled to himself. Scion's first ally had been made.

"He seemed so happy. I bet he hasn't smiled in a long time. You keep fighting Scion, and while you do that I'll look after this machine and find this thing for you." Shigen muttered as he watched the renewed Scion blast off towards the horizon. He crossed the Equatorial Union's Border and was now on his way, to his dream.

His Dream of peace.

-------

A/N: This chapter came a lot faster then I thought it would. Though, I feel that it might have been rushed but looking on it now I kind of like that feel since that was the entire feeling Scion was experiencing. Though the scene with Akita did feel very rushed, give me your opinions on that since I'm torn between wanting that feeling or adding more for the readers sake…

So, I dropped the "" around thoughts. Honestly I don't know why I even used the damn things, must be one of those mental blocks that you just can't reason around. Whatever, they are gone now and I feel better about it.

So, anyone getting interested about Seigel's and his mystery involvement? I hope some of you are, keep an eye out on him if you aren't.

Also, if you think that Shigen's reaction was a bit too accepting of Scion's ambitions, don't worry, there is a reason, I didn't just make his acceptance of Takashi's Legacy pop out of thin air like it may seem. As he becomes bigger in the story I'll give you peeks into his mind and past as well.

Oh, the next update may come a bit slower since I want to go back and clean up a few of the previous chapter. I've found that my style of writing has changed as I continue this fic, and hopefully my quality of writing has gotten better as well.

I believe that's it…Thanks to all my readers and please review! I want to know what you all think of this! Questions? I'll answer in my next A/N, comments, and so on are wanted! Its good to know what people think, good or bad!

Enjoy,

-Arc


	20. War of Broken Hearts III

**Chapter 15: War of Broken Hearts III**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**February 11, C.E. 71**

**Eurasian Federation, Border, 4:15 P.M.**

"What do you mean stole!" Shigen's commanding officer cried.

"I'm sorry…he just knocked me over and I went tumbling off the mobile suit. I got up and he was boarding the machine saying he'd return it when he came back for his machine. He was just too strong for me." Shigen answered as shamefully as he could make it sound.

"ARGH! You idiot! How are we going to explain this to Erica Simmons and Lord Uzumi?" He spat back at him.

"The truth I guess…besides, we 'do' have his machine. He'll come back for it…I'm positive of it." Shigen responded again.

The commander gripped his head and began stomping around the area ranting and raving about the trouble he was in. Shigen sighed to himself and regarded Revolution as it was being loaded up into the trailer to be transported back to Orb. He smiled to himself as he looked to the direction that Scion left in. Somehow he had a feeling that letting him go was the right thing.

It would have been something his brother did.

**:Flash Back:**

**May 23, C.E. 69**

**Orb, 4:15 P.M.**

"So you are really leaving Orb, big brother?" fourteen year old Shigen asked his older brother.

"Yeah, the way things are going I can't see war being avoided and I'd rather get some training before the war starts so I have better chances of surviving combat." The older sibling stated.

"But, why? Why leave! You have me and Yumi here! Why do you have to fight?"

His older brother smiled down at him and got on one knee to be on eye level with his brother. Three years set them apart and while his brother was of normal height, Shigen had been very short until he finally started growing later on in his fourteenth year.

"Because little brother," Shigen grunted as his brother put a hand on his head, "Because I believe that I can do something. I don't know what it is but I can't just sit here and do nothing. If I go to war maybe I can find a way to stop it too, find that something that will end the war. I love this nation and because I love this nation I'm going to fight and hope that by fighting I can protect this nation, you and Yumi too." His brother smiled again at his younger counterpart.

"But..but.." Shigen sniffed softly.

"Hey, now, don't cry. Remember what I always told you?"

"Yeah, if you love something then protect it."

"That's right, and to protect something you love you have to do everything in your power to protect it. If you ever got the chance to do that, wouldn't you do it?"

Shigen nodded and his brother, Nobunari, stood on his two feet. He gave a pat on the head again and then a thumbs up.

"Protect Orb while I'm gone brother. Protect it however you see fit, never let this Land of Peace be lost. Even if you have to break the rules of our nation, even if you have to be branded a traitor! Protect this Land with everything you have. Live with no regrets, so that when you die, by the gun or of old age you will have no parting sorrows."

Shigen smiled and promised that he would do everything he possibly could to protect this nation, this Land of Peace. He waved as his brother smiled once more and boarded the flight that would take him to the Moon and to the Military. It was the last time he saw his brother.

**:End of Flash Back:**

And he kept his word, a year later he joined the Orb Military and began doing everything he could to make Orb safe. And as he looked down the path Scion took he believed that he did the right thing by letting Scion go with_ Clarity_. Perhaps, one day, when Scion returned he too would help and protect this nation.

But even if he never came back, Shigen would continue to protect Orb, because that was his dream. Just like Scion's dream, Shigen dreamed of Orb, the Land of Peace, being ever lasting. He would do anything to see it become reality.

He had a list of things to do as soon as he returned to Orb. First he would find that upgrade for the Revolution and then began looking into the Yumi incident. If she was really alive then Shigen wanted to know why and what she had been up to until the present. Knowing the old Yumi he couldn't see her as an aid for Scion and his war machine. There had to be something else behind it. It was then that Shigen truly regretted losing touch with her after his brothers death.

If he saw her again he'd have to apologize.

-------------

**February 13, C.E. 71**

**Equatorial Union, Deserted Island, 5:30 P.M.**

"Well, I guess I'll camp here tonight. No point in going in the dark." Scion said as he hid his borrowed machine away in the jungle on a small deserted island. He left his machine and made a small camp in a cave that he found near the southern end of the small land mass.

After he had a small fire going and he had fed himself the last of his food rations he decided to go to bed early and start again at first light. His hope for finding the Archangel were getting thinner with each passing day. Sure, he had just reached the islands that the Archangel would pass through but he didn't know if the ship had already passed, or if it had been shot down.

On top of all that was the plan, what was he going to do after he joined with the Archangel? He had to get off at Orb to get his machine so would he just abandon them? How would he get to Orb anyway? Annouce himself? He'd have to somehow get in contact with someone from the inside.

And then what would he do after that! He was beginning to think that his dream was just too far off to be gained. It seemed that all he did was fight, fight, and fight some more. First, fighting for himself and now the Archangel, and it appeared that he would owe Orb his services as well for repairing his machine. He couldn't keep up like this…but what choice did he have? He still had no clue as to what would bring this war to an end….not yet anyway.

The sad part was that…Scion enjoyed the fighting. Not because he wanted to kill things, but because, in the midst of battle. When all he could see, hear, and taste was fighting…when he was entirely engulfed in the flames of war he could finally forget his tragic life and his horrible loses and broken promises. Scion began to wonder if he was losing sight of his dream and falling into a dark abyss…maybe he was just a mercenary now and not an avenger for Axle, Takashi, Violet, his father, his mother, and everyone else who had died for him.

He wrestled with the idea until he fell into a rocky sleep, which lead to images of Junius Seven, Takashi's Lab, and of Axle and Violet. The dream would have gone on until dawn had he not be awakened by a loud crash and a huge splash that followed.

_What! An Enemy!_

Scion was instantly on his feet and went for his gun, he looked to his side when he found nothing with his hand and discovered that his gun must have been left on Revolution when he sat down to talk to Shigen and his commander. He spat on the ground before going off to find the source of the crash. At least he had a knife meant for food, better then nothing Scion supposed.

He slowly trudged towards the source of the crash, through weeds and trees, and other manner of growth. When he was about half way over the island the sounds of gunshots came to his ears from the other end. Shigen quickly turned and darted for the other side of the island, worried that enemies were indeed on the island.

He stopped at the edge of the forest, where the beach began, and slowly peered down. They was a blonde person below, he had a gun and was walking over to another gun on the sand. He kicked the gun away and then Scion saw another in a Red Zaft Uniform charge out and attack the other. Scion bolted into the situation and just as the ZAFT Soldier had pinned the other and raised his knife to strike Scion tackled the red clad soldier to the ground.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A high pitched and terrible sounding cry screeched out. Scion froze as he sat on top of the Zaft soldier who also froze. They both looked at the man and discovered it was a female.

"A girl?" They both muttered at the same time.

The girl sat herself up and looked at them both, "Yes, I'm a girl! What is it with you men!" She spat at them. She then looked at Scion and suddenly froze. It was at that time that the ZAFT solider and Scion realized they should still be fighting. Their heads quickly turned to one another.

A short pause ensued as the two men registered each others faces.

"ATHRUN?"

"SCION?"

"UGH!" They both retorted as they pushed themselves away from the other.

"Scion? SCION KAZUMA!" The girl called out as they looked at the other blonde.

"Who.." Scion looked from Athrun briefing to look at the female, "…CAGALLI!" He yelled again as he looked at Cagalli and Athurn twice before shaking his head madly, "You've got to be kidding me!"

"What are you doing here, Kazuma!" Athurn asked as he readied his knife.

"Yeah, what are you doing here, Scion!" Cagalli asked also.

"What am I doing here! What are you two doing here?" Scion spat back at the two.

The three stood warily and regarded the others. Scion had now gone for his knife and in response Athrun held his up in a combat stance. Cagalli ran between the two quickly.

"Wait! Let's not fight! There's no point in us fighting each other!" She pleaded to the two men.

A silence fell over the group as both Scion and Athurn eyed each other. Athrun with a mild hate and Scion with a great sense of guilt that wouldn't allow him to look him in the eye. How horrible it would be for Scion to admit to him that he was largely guilty for his mothers death.

"Well!" Cagalli protested further.

"Very well, then. If Scion and you promise to discard your weapons I will too." Athrun said as he lowered his guard.

"..Yeah, a truce then." Scion spoke, all to thankful that he didn't have to fight Athrun under these conditions. He tossed his knife to the ocean and Athrun did the same with his. Cagalli seemed very happy with the arrangement.

"I've got a base camp set up a little ways into the jungle. We should go...it looks like its going to rain." Scion spoke as he looked up at the sky for a moment and the dark clouds gathering..

"I've got to send out an S.O.S first. It will only take a second." Athrun said as he ran off to the Aegis that was just in view.

With Athrun gone Scion looked at Cagalli and then turned his back to her. Truth be told this was not how he wanted to see her again. The last time they met she pretty much dragged him around like a dog on a leash, and there was no way he was going to let that happen with Athrun around.

"So….Cagalli…" Scion began as he looked up at the sky and the gathering storm clouds over head.

"Thanks, Scion." She responded.

"Huh? For what?" Scion asked, still not looking at the blonde female.

"For telling me about Heliopolis. If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't have been happy."

"Oh, no problem." Scion said quickly.

"But, I still have a few--"

Cagalli stopped as the rain began to fall on their heads. Scion looked up as well as the rain soaked their bodies. Both people fell silent and just kept their faces up towards the sky. Scion wished that his sins could he washed away just like the sand on his body was being washed away by the rain. He lowered his head to the beach and stared out towards the Ocean. Until he was away from Athrun, he silently wished this rain would carry his guilt away….just for the moment.

"I've sent out the S.O.S. Lets head to that camp.." Athrun interjected as he came back to the group. He eyed the two blonde's warily as Scion suddenly took off towards his small set up camp site. Not wanting to face the Coordinator. Cagalli and Athrun exchanged looks before following.

-----------

**February 13, C.E. 71**

**On route to Onogoro Island; 9:45 P.M.**

"So you are certain he will return Clarity?" Erica Simmons questioned Shigen over a transmission. She was obviously upset though she seemed calm.

"Yes, ma'am. I could tell he was very attached to the machine. It seems to have some sentimental value to him. He said he was only taking Clarity so that he could go save a number of crew members who take control of the repairs to his machine. If he was going to save the crew, even after losing Revolution, then he must intend to return for it." Shigen responded as formally as he could, without showing any sign of nervousness. He was after all, lying to a degree."

"I see…well. At least we have one machine to show for this. I've been wanting to see Doctor Takashi's infamous machine for sometime now. I hear it was thought to be unusable because of the systems loaded into it. I can't want to get to see its combat data and see what it is capable of." She responded curtly.

"Yes. We should arrive in a couple of days. We are just passing outside of the Equatorial Unions Borders," the Commanding officer piped up. He glowered at Shigen maliciously for making him look bad.

"Very well then, make sure it arrives in as good condition as you retrieved it. I've already received the data found from the remains of the laboratory and we believe we can repair it to its normal state. Please, hurry." The communications cut after that brief exchange.

"I hope you're happy Shigen. I could have sworn you'd be put into detention or something for this kind of thing. Erica must want that machine real bad to have her pardon any punishment. Not to mention that the council members involved didn't say anything about punishment either." The commander stated as the two were left in a private section of the carrier they were currently on.

"Yeah…but, isn't it strange? How they don't seem concerned they lost Clarity at all? Like they…were expecting it." Shigen muttered thoughtfully.

"Now that you mention it." The commander spoke, looking at his terminal to his side.

"What if… they wanted this to happen, or something along these lines."

"Why would Orb want something like this."

"The machine is one thing…but the pilot is the most important part of the mobile suit. Without him it wouldn't run."

"Yeah, so?"

"So, if he had just returned with us all we could do was repair his machine for him in exchange for his cooperation. But…since he stole Clarity….we can use that as well. Or maybe, we want to test Clarity's combat ability using him as a pilot. Or perhaps his machine was just more important then Clarity…" Shigen theorized a number of cases that could be true.

"If any of those are true then I don't like it. Orb is getting its hands too involved in matters. But, what could be so damn important about this machine. For that matter, why was it deemed unusable?"

"I don't know…" _I've seen it fight before, it didn't seem so astounding at the time. Could it be that it was deemed unusable when all the upgrades were attached? If so, then what is waiting for me in Orb? I'm starting to think that joining up with Scion was good for more then just one reason._

_--------_

**February 13, C.E. 71**

**Equatorial Union, Deserted Island, 7:00 P.M.**

The three, Cagalli, Scion, and Athrun, all sat around a fire in the middle of a small save. Neither seemed very eager to speak as they all sat in silence with a food ration that Athrun had passed out. Scion nor Cagalli had anything to eat and while Cagalii was reluctant at first, Scion gorged it down quickly.

It was in these moments that the tension in the cave rose ridiculously. All three of them kept their distance from the others. Scion sat opposite of Athurn and Cagalli sat to the back of the cave where she could keep an eye on both of the men. So far no one had spoke a word since they left the beach.

"The air waves are jammed. It will probably be morning before we get anything through." Athrun stated, probably trying to relieve some tension so everyone could try and sleep, by starting conversation.

"You guys are at fault for the airwaves!" Cagalli retorted.

"Those measures were taken because the Earth Alliance used Nuclear Weapons on the PLANTS." Athrun shot back.

Scion's body tensed at the mention of the nuclear attack on the PLANTS. But he was so tired from being up all day that he couldn't really bring himself to say anything in response. He just sat silently and watched the fire in front of him dumbly. The rain hadn't stopped yet either and the sound of the rain kind of soothed Scion over, he was reminded that it had been supposed to rain in Junius Seven the day of the attack. Somehow, that fact made his entire mood rather mellow.

"Yeah, well,….you guys attacked Heliopolis!"

"Because Heliopolis, a neutral nation was making Mobile Suits for the Earth Alliance! It wasn't like Junius Seven who got hit with a large scale nuclear missile assault!"

Cagalli seemed defeated at that point. She lowered her head and stared at the fire in front of her.

"Actually…" Scion began unthinking, being so out of his thoughts, "It was only three missiles, there was only three left in Alpha squa….."

The tension in the cave suddenly rose to immeasurable proportions as Scion suddenly came crashing back into the real world. His eyes opened wide as he glanced over at Athrun who stood in shock, staring dead at Scion. Cagalli too stared at Scion with a surprised look on her face.

"What…did you say!" Athrun said, as he took a step forward towards Scion.

"No, Athrun!" Scion quickly sprang to his feet. Still wearing his pilot suit, not wanting to expose himself like Cagalli who was dressed in her undergarments but was hidden under a blanket.

"You…were there. You aren't a coordinator?" Athrun spoke again with a little more rise in his voice.

"No, Athrun! Listen to me!" Scion pleaded as he began backing out of the cave. Cagalli rose to her feet as she stared blankly at Athrun and Scion.

"You were there…AT JUNIUS SEVEN!" Athrun yelled finally before charging Scion, assuming the worst possible, but truthful, scenario.

Athrun collided into Scion hard and the two rolled out of the cave and into the wet and damp jungle. Athrun held unto Scion as they slammed into a tree with Scion pressed to the bark, his head banging hard into the truck of the tree, and Athurn in front of him, dazed by the spinning. Athrun get a loud yelled before slugging Scion with his right arm. The rain ran down their pilot suits, making footing and grip hard to keep, and their matted hair quickly for into their faces.

"ATHURN! SCION! STOP IT!" Cagalli yelled from inside the cave.

"ANSWER ME!" Athurn yelled as he punched Scion again. Scion refusing to admit his sin to Athrun tackled the young man back to the ground where they proceeded to wrestle. The mud clang to their clothes and faces and rocks clawed and their bodies inflicting several minor scratches.

They two combatants rolled until Scion won the top position and tried to pin the Coordinator's arms down and keep the fight from progressing. But Athrun in a fury pushed forward towards Scion, the Perfect Coordinator's strength being overcome by the rage of another Coordinator, Scion unable to keep a secure footing in this situation fell backwards unto his back hard, Scion could tell the back of his head was bleeding mildly.

Cagalli continued to rain down screams and shouts to the boys as Athrun punched again with his right arm which Scion dodged by moving his head to the side. Scion then got enough leverage to bring his knee up and hit Athrun in the back, launching him off of his body.

"Calm down Athrun!" Scion yelled as he ran after the tumbling Coordinator.

"YOU KILLED THEM! DIDN'T YOU!" Athurn yelled as he came to his feet. Scion froze at the questions and found himself unable to move.

The two stood in perfect silence as the rain around them fell. Scion's hair was completely in his face and he had to push it aside to make any sense of the scene before him. Likewise, Athrun too was a dripping mess, muddy, cut up, and watered down just like Scion. Lightning had also begun to sound around them as they stared at each other, small amounts of blood.

_Damn it, move, move, move, move, MOVE DAMN IT!_ Scion demanding pathetically at his legs who refused to budge. His eyes opened wide as Athurn came at him again. The two instinctively brought back their right fists and attempted to punch the other only, each boy caught the others blow with their left hand. From here it was a struggle of brute strength and will power, their feet ground in the wet mud as their hands struggled to keep their grip on the other.

"STOP IT YOU GUYS!" Cagalli yelled as she ran out into the ran to attempt to stop them.

"Admit it! You are an Earth Alliance soldier responsible for killing my Mother!" Athrun yelled at Scion demandingly.

"I…I…" Scion stuttered with tears welling in his eyes, that were washed away by the rain.

"ADMIT IT!"

"Argh…AHHHHH!" Scion yelled madly as he began to push Athrun backwards, his feet sliding in the mud. The two warriors continued to push the other in the pounding rain and lightning that lighted the area periodically. Athrun intent on killing his assumed mother's murder and Scion fighting to keep his secret hidden, to keep his disgusting sin hidden from Athrun and himself.

"SCION KAZUMA!" Athrun yelled back before launched his forehead at Scion's own. Scion was hit squarely and his eyes dilated from the shock as he slipped in the mud and fell backwards, holding unto Athrun as they tumbled down a steep hill, Scion down on the ground and Athrun straddled on top of him as if Scion was a sled. The two smashed through branches, vines, bushes, and mud as they slid down the ditch into a small grove causing both boys to have multiple scratches, pricks, and thorns in their bodies.

There Athrun in a mad rage put his hands around Scion's neck. The look in his eyes shown briefly as a flash of lightning streaked by and illuminated the area. It was obvious that both boys were crying and both were fighting against each other and themselves.

"You…killed her!" Athrun forced himself to yell as he fought against his own tears.

"…..Yes…" Scion said pathetically, as he was now in violent sobs, "Yes, I did. …And you have every right to hate me. I'm…so sorry, Athrun…" Scion admitted finally as Athrun began to tighten his grip on Scion's neck. Scion face gave a pained expression as his legs began to thrash around madly.

"But…I can't die yet…." Scion's continued as he gripped the wrists of Athurn's hands, holding them as tightly as he could in the rain, "Not yet, there is so much I have to do first. So much to make up for. Not until I make up for my sins!" Scion began to pulled Athrun's grip away form his neck as Athrun continued to try and force them down.

A cycle ensued then. Scion would push Athrun's hands away from him until the rain forced him to slip and loose his grip, allowing Athrun to gain the advantage again until Scion started to fight back again. The lightning came down more frequently now and the rain had started to come down in larger and heavier drops.

"Axle died because of me, Violet, Doctor Takashi, my Father, that recruiter, Flay's father. And everyone in Junius Seven! I have to make it up to them! I HAVE TO!" Scion pleaded to Athrun as a raindrop caught him in the eye, forcing the both eyes shut out of reflex for a moment.

It was then that Cagalli appeared and grabbed Athrun's wrist, "Please, Athurn! Is this what you mother would want? Look at yourself!" Athrun continued to try and strangle Scion before suddenly stopping. The boy slumped back and pushed himself away from Scion before breaking into violent sobs. Scion followed soon after.

Cagalli, not knowing what to do, sat dumbly for a while before helping the two battered cry babies back to the cave. She helped Athrun to his feet and then went to help Scion, but he was already on his feet.

To Scion, he thought he deserved no such help. He was a man that deserved no sympathy from anyone. And so he walked by himself as he bleed from the back of the head slightly and lead the way back to the cave where they would hopefully be safe….from each other.

-----------

**February 13, C.E. 71**

**Equatorial Union, Deserted Island, 10:00 P.M. **

It had taken some time for Scion to stop crying. Athrun had fallen asleep in his fit but for Scion, sleep would never come. The fear of nightmares continued to keep his fears at bay. So he sat staring at the fire in front of him, dripping wet and pitiful.

Cagalli was awake as well and still without clothes, and her blanket was also wet so she didn't have that anymore either. But at this point neither person really cared. Cagalli sat next to Scion as she finished a putting a band aid on the left side of his forehead where they he had got scratched by a branch. She had tended to Athrun first, since he was asleep, and then came for Scion who at first refused to let her help him but slowly gave up. He didn't have the strength to argue.

With he task down Cagalli returned the first-aid kit to the edge of the cave incase she needed it later. She then sat down next to Scion near the fire and did so in silence. She would chance a glance at him every once in a while but each time she did so she was more sure that she didn't want to look at him. He looked pathetic, wet, muddy, bandaged, and still sniffling back small tears.

"Scion…did you really…you know.." Cagalli asked as he sat next to him by the fire. She pulled her legs up to her chest and looked at the fire closely, not expecting the man to answer. Even though he didn't seem to be in the mood to talk she had to know…if it was true.

"When I was a child…." Scion began, obviously not caring about secrets anymore, "I hated Coordinators. They were so good at everything…I was jealous of them." Scion then took the same position as Cagalli, pulling his worn legs to his chest and staring intently at the fire.

"So, when the call for war came I jumped at the idea. I was so ready to fight…I didn't think I was killing anyone. I was sixteen, when you shoot something down you don't think about the person inside. You just think of it as a destroyed machine. It was easy…" Scion carried on, in a solemn and slow voice.

"I was ordered to escort the Roosevelt as it entered the battle. I assume that if the Alpha squad had been destroyed I would have been ordered to commit the actual act….but.." Scion stopped himself as he began to shake slightly.

"So you didn't do it! You were just protecting the Roosevelt!" Cagalli whispered in an attempt to cheer him up.

"…I wish…I had done it…" Scion said, to Cagalli's great shock, "Cause then…I wouldn't have had to watch it happen!" Scion said as he buried his head in his arms and began to sob again.

"..Scion…" Cagalli muttered before leaning against him, she stared at the fire while silently listening to the man cry beside him. After a while she passed out and feel into a light sleep. Scion though, remained aware and awake and would remain so the entire night.

_I'm so sorry…Athrun…when this is over. You can have my life._ Scion thought as he brought his face back up from his knees and looked out at the rain…..

It hadn't stopped.

--------------------

**((The Next Morning))**

"Cagalli, wake up. Get dressed." The blonde hair girl woke with a start and looked around briefly to asses her surroundings. She was on the ground in the cave.

"Athrun says his allies and your are coming. I didn't know you were with the Archangel?" Scion said.

"We…never got a chance to really talk." She said sheepishly, choosing to avoid the subject of the night before. She was very worried though about the two men that had almost killed one another.

The two grabbed their things and walked out to meet a returning Athrun. The three stopped and regarded one another, unsure of what to say at this point in their little fiasco.

"There is another group from the sea, probably your allies, Cagalli…Scion." Athrun spoke quietly, "You should get out of here, I don't want this to turn into 'another' battlefield."

Cagalli nodded and then thanked Athrun for something she wouldn't mention. She then waited for Scion and Athrun to say their farewells.

"Well…" Scion said unsure of himself.

"I'll let you go today, Kazuma. But when next we meet, I'll shoot you down…on the battlefield." Athrun proclaimed with an icy look in his eye.

"Yeah…on the battlefield." Scion responded softly. Cagalli and Scion waved their goodbyes before heading to the other beach.

On reaching the other beach the two could see the approaching Strike and Sky-Grasper. Cagalli waved to the two allies and Scion stood behind her staring off in the direction of Athrun Zala, his now mortal enemy. As he turned his attention to the landing Strike he wondered briefly, if a man like him who incited such hate could bring peace to such a world as this.

-------------------------

**A/N:** Okay, so woah. This was a pretty cool chapter I think. Once it got into the thick of it anyway. So anyone see this outcome? Hmm? I'm sure some of you saw Scion getting into this canon meeting but I bet you didn't expect it to turn out the way it did. I'll give you a cyber cookie if you did….not really.

I've just received the entire Gundam SEED series from my awesome mother, props for my mum, and I'm hoping that since I no longer have to rely on my friend to review the episodes I can get these chapters out quicker. But with school starting I may end up slowing down a bit. I'll do my best to keep the updates fairly regular.

But, I've recently noticed as I read other GS fics that I'm interested in that my character, Scion, seems to be the only person who doesn't have a butt load of information, money, or help. XD I'm starting to wonder if I missed the trend of the well informed, rich, and the cool and calm character that other fics have. Ah, well, I kind of like the dramatic flaws in Scion's character anyway.

Anyway, as always, review please! Thanks to Warp for reviewing and I hope that all my other readers are enjoying the enfolding story, though it may seem like there are a lot of loose threads at the moment, think of them as food for thought. Lol!

Alright, I'll get out of your way, Enjoy! As always, forgive me for typos.

-Arc.


	21. A Day of Peace

**Chapter 16: A Day of Peace**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

**A/N: Since the first big event has occurred, I will be showing more things from other point of views and will continue to do so as the story progresses.**

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**February 14, C.E. 71**

**Archangel , Captain's Quarters , 11: 24 A.M. **

Scion sat alone in a chair, surrounded by the three ranking officers of the Archangel. Captain Ramius sat behind her desk with Flaga to her right and Natarle to her left. They all seemed very tense, Scion included. They had ordered him here to report on what had occurred since he plummeted away from the Archangel and, so far, Scion had refused to tell them how he acquired yet another machine of similar design to the Gundam's, which Kira had dubbed the GAT-X series of mobile suits.

"So you won't tell us who supplied you that machine?" Murrie asked politely but sternly.

"No, ma'am. I must leave that information void as I did when concerning my own machine." Scion responded.

"Scion Kazuma, do you understand the issue? Since you have met us you have shown up in two machines like the GAT-X's series. If there is, or was a spy in the Earth Alliance we would have you tell us!" Natarle commanded, obviously very uneasy about Scion's ability to claim another machine.

"Lieutenant Badgiruel!" Captain Ramius barked at her. The promoted Ensign gave a spiteful look at Scion and stood back at ease, choosing to wait for another opportunity.

Scion bowed his head and solemnly decided it was better that he give no clues what so ever to the fact that Orb was the maker of Clarity and, indirectly, Revolution. His hands turned into fists as they rested on his knees, he was still suited in his pilot attire, and he waited for the next question.

"Well, I've got a question, that's been bugging me ever since I met you." Mu La Flaga chimed in, "It was about a pilot that was pretty famous back before the Junius Seven incident. I believe he had the same name as yours. Is that just a coincidence?" He asked thoughtfully as he peered down at Scion, Murrie seemed to be interested in the question as well.

"Now that you mention it, I do remember a genius pilot, belonging to an elite section of the Mobile Armor core." Ramius stated as she too turned her eye to Scion who seemed reluctant to answer.

"Impossible, ma'am." Natarle interrupted. "Former Earth Alliance Soldier, Scion Kazuma, died shortly after the Junius Seven incident while flying a recon mission. I looked up the information as soon as we reached the 8th Fleet, since I too noticed the name." The Junior-Lieutenant stated promptly. "Besides, we can obviously tell he can't be the same man." She finished.

"What do you mean?" Murrie asked.

Scion gritted his teeth as this conversation danced dangerously around the truth of his life. He was pretty sure that Cagalli was not going to tell anyone about his past, the little dark spot she did know about, but if they found out then he would be in some serious trouble. He was supposed to be dead and what would happen if they found out anything different?

Scion cursed inwardly, he told himself that he wasn't going to let his past control him. And for the most part he did just that, but it seemed that every time he got a grip on himself something would happen to painfully remind him of his mistake. The images of Athrun's face were still firmly implanted in his mind and the fight that had occurred the very same night.

_Why does everything seem to go back to that damned day!_Scion thought to himself bitterly as Natarle answered the captain.

"I think it's fairly obvious that Scion here is a Coordinator," Murrie and Mu looked at the female in question, "Since he can pilot a machine similar to the Strike with the same remarkable results as Kira." Natarle concluded.

The three looked at Scion, who still had his head bowed and refused to meet their gaze. Whatever they thought about him didn't matter, he was simply here to do a job and somehow get Clarity back to Orb. But how he was going to do that without the Archangel knowing was a far fetched idea, even though Cagalli was on board he doubted she could get him into Orb without them knowing.

"Well, regardless of Scion's birth nature, we can't really do anything about the machine he has." Murrie stated.

"Captain!" Natarle said, shocked that she was going to let him off free.

"He is not a member of this military, in fact he is a mercenary working for us, his payment being the housing of his crewmembers who support his machine." The captain nodded to Scion who had looked up at her, "But, please refrain from anymore acts like the one in the Earth's Atmosphere, we had assumed you had died and Kira too it harshly." Murrie finished.

"Harshly?" Scion asked, confused as to why Kira would be upset about his death.

"Don't you remember? You did come down and save his life you know? Or attempt to anyway. We caught Kira but you plummeted down to Earth without any aid. It took Kira a while to come out of that fever of his and it's a miracle you survived at all. The kid felt like it was his fault." Mu summarized the situation briefly.

Scion nodded briefly before standing up and nodded to the captain. She told him to be on stand by for the time being, she saluted and then Scion began to leave.

"Oh, Captain."

"Yes?"

"When we pass by Orb, I need my crew to be sent off on transport towards it. I don't want them being caught up in the Military because of their job. I'll continue to see the ship to Alaska."

"Very well, then. We will send all of your non-combat support crewmembers to Orb as soon as we are able too."

Scion nodded and left the Captain's quarters. Mu and Murrie sighed heavily while Natarle remained stiff. They all knew that Scion was becoming a liability with too many questions and not enough answers. One gifted pilot, two machines, and way to many oddities such as his private meeting with Halberton made all of the ranking Archangel officers unsure of the boy.

"Are you sure we can trust him?" Natarle asked the captain.

"Do we have a choice? I mean, we need the help out there on the battlefield." Mu asked in response to the question.

"I'm not sure if we can trust him, but Mu is right. We need his power if we are going to get to Alaska. At least we know he's here because of his crew members and not for some other purpose." Murrie stated.

"Or we hope that's why he's here." Natarle flatly commented.

--------------------

**February 14, C.E. 71**

**Archangel, Rear Upper Desk, 12:00 P.M.**

Cagalli had been sure she saw Scion leave the captain's quarters a moment ago. Ever since the incident she hadn't been able to talk to him properly. Of course she wasn't really sure if she should considering what had happened the night before.

Throwing caution to the wind she decided she should attempt a talk with the man to clear a few things up and make other things certain. He knew her secret and she knew his, she would have to make sure that he would keep hers and in return she would keep his.

Yet, her secret seemed so small compared to his. She remembered the pain she felt in Heliopolis and when she saw her friend Ahmed die. Yet, how much more horrible was it to know you were connected with the death of hundreds of thousands of innocent deaths? She now knew why the man was so secretive and keeping to himself.

When they had first met he had refused to give her any information at all and for all her nagging she got only a cell phone. He was not someone who confided easily in people. There had to be a lot more to him then just that incident. Nnow that she was aware of Junius Seven and his involvement an air of mystery just seemed to be seeping from him that she didn't or hadn't realized before when she knew nothing. And from the rumors of him having a different machine then the one he had with him before, that she knew belonged to Orb. It all proved that he had more secrets then just that one horrible sin.

She came to the upper deck after checking a number of other places he could have gone after he vanished from her sight. Sure enough the blonde man was there, leaning on the railings with his arms folded on the rails. His pilot suit zipped down to give him some room to breath and his helmet on the floor by feet.

She walked to his side and leaned against the railing in the same fashion as he was. She glanced over at him and found him to be staring out at the sea with a much better look in his eyes then the day before. Not to mention that she was very happy she was dressed this time, though she wondered if either boy had noticed it once the fighting started.

"Don't worry." Scion started her, as he suddenly spoke, "Kisaka already came to me. He was at the dance I guess and remembered my face. I won't tell anyone about your secret. That's why you came to talk to me about, right?"

"Uh, yeah. But…I…wanted to talk about other things too." Cagalli looked out over the ocean as well and gave a thought to her words before going on, "Like, where did you get that machine, and how did you know about Heliopolis, and what really happened to Doctor Takashi, and why you have Orb's Clarity?"

"Still asking so many questions. Do you have a record of consecutive questions asked?" He remarked sarcastically, and even though Cagalli wasn't happy about the comment she did like the fact that he was back to how he acted when they first met, but he seemed older on the inside at the same time.

"It's not my fault, you spark the questions, you know?" Cagalli retorted while sticking her nose up in the air, refusing to be caught off guard even if she felt bad for him.

"**_-Chuckle- _**I get that a lot. But, its really not important for you to know and I'm not one who just gives information away."

"Why? Are they something like ---" Cagalli suddenly stopped as she felt Scion's right hand grip her left wrist tightly.

"Don't. There are something's that should be talked about, other things that should be thought about in ones self, and then there are things that should just be forgotten and never spoken of again. Do not try to speak to me about things you do not understand. " Scion said with a frosted glare, he released her hand and looked back towards the ocean as a fairly strong breeze began to blow.

"Sulking about it won't help either…" Cagalli muttered under her breath.

Cagalli looked down at her feet and stooped down to grab the helmet at his feet, "Is this a mercenary helmet or something?" She asked, opting to change the subject for the moment, "It looks pretty old, a hand me down?"

Scion shook his head, "No. My mother refurbished it for me." Scion stated, and Cagalli not knowing about the Atmospheric drop assumed that it was given some time back.

"I see, your mother did a good job." Cagalli looked at the square visor and turned it around, feeling slightly sticky material, a residue from the cleaning material used. Her hand slid over a few scratches on the back and she ran her hand over them, "Looks like she couldn't fix these…" Scion shrugged and continue to stare out into the open.

Cagalli looked up at Scion and then down at the helmet and then it clicked, like a puzzle, the markings were not just wounds on the helmet but writing. She looked up at Scion, who didn't seem to have noticed, and tried to make out the words without seeming to interested in them.

**Watch my son, who can't find his way in the dark. Watch him closely, because a light often burns brightest in the dark. Yes, watch him closely whoever reads this, because this mother knows his light will burn brighter then a star once more….with all of his mothers blessings protecting him. This Star will burn again.**

Cagalli smiled softly, after putting down the helmet between them, "I bet your mother is a great person." She muttered before pushing away from the railing, "Well, I'll get my answers out of you later, Scion. You had better be ready to answer! See you later." She said as she began walking backwards. When Scion waved a goodbye she turned around and began making her way back to her quarters, sure that he would be just fine.

After all, he had his mothers blessings.

------------------

**February 14, C.E. 71**

**Carpentaria, Briefing Room, 12:00 P.M.**

"Hey, Athrun, why the rush?" Nicol yelled at the rushing Athrun.

"I want to catch up to the Legged Ship before it reaches Alaska. We need to depart now!" Athrun stated firmly.

"Athrun, you only just returned a few hours ago! You need to rest!" Nicol pleaded with his commander and friend.

But for Athrun there would be no waiting. He now had a reason to take down the Archangel, a reason that wouldn't make him feel guilty. Because now he could stop thinking about killing Kira and start thinking about killing Scion. The man who killed his mother and countless other Coordinators.

Everyone was surprised when Athrun demanded that their ship, a Couteau class, depart immediately to pursue the Legged Ship. Even Yzak and Dearka were surprised at Athrun's unusual need to give chase, but it actually caused the two hot-headed pilots to give their commander more credit then they normally would. Yzak liked Athrun's new style and Dearka was always ready for a fight. It was Nicol who saw the change as disturbing.

"Look, Nicol. I understand what you are saying, but I'm fine. I just want to complete my mission." _And kill that man! Scion Kazuma!_

"Athrun…what happened on the island. Ever since you returned you've been acting like Yzak with being so…violent towards our mission."

Athrun stopped and closed his eyes. He opened his eyes and took a look at his worried friend, seeing real concern in his eyes he took a deep breath and tried to expel the blind hate from his body. He walked towards Nicol and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Sorry, Nicol. But this is something I have to do, I need to find the Legged Ship." Athrun explained, leaving out the important details which didn't help Nicol's worry.

"Alright, Athrun…I mean, Commander Zala." He laughed softly and saluted at an attempt for humor. Athrun smiled in return and both raced off to board their vessel to track down the Legged Ship. Athrun was ready to avenge his mother...it was the reason he joined this fight afterall.

--------

**February 14, C.E. 71**

**Archangel, Read Upper Deck, 12:15P.M.**

"Hey, Kira!"

Scion turned his head and saw Flay pop out unto the upper deck and call out for her boyfriend. She spotted Scion and walked over to him as she glanced over the area to make sure he wasn't around.

"Hey, Scion, have you--"

"Kira? No, I haven't. Sorry." Scion said quickly.

"Oh…if you see him tell him I'm looking for him." Flay said with a pout. Scion nodded and after telling her good luck she fled from the scene.

With a heavy sigh Scion stood up and smiled with a shake of his head. He went over to the railing and reached down until he felt his accomplices hand grip him firmly. He put his right foot on the railing and pulled Kira Yamato up and out of his hiding place. Once he was firmly on the ground and safe both boys laughed.

"Dodging your girl, huh? Never thought you had it in you, Kira." Scion said. After Cagalli had left, Kira had come not ten minutes later with a need to hide. So this little stunt was invented.

"Yeah, I guess it is unlike me. After the way she barged in when me and Cagalli were talking the other day I kind of felt like I needed some air." Kira said shamefully, "Plus, I wanted to talk to you."

Both laughed softly. When Kira had first appeared Scion was quick to tell him to stop blaming things on himself for things that was out of his control. The lesson would have gone on longer if not for Flay and Kira's need to hide.

"Not you too. Geez, I come back from the dead and I'm instantly the most popular guy on the ship." Scion said sarcastically.

"_**-Laugh-** _Yeah, everyone just pretty much assumed you were dead after the drop. We didn't have time to look for you once things started going. Cagalli, Desert Dawn, Andrew Watfeld. It all happened so fast." Kira briefly began to explain the situation that had occurred.

"I see, so you had a chance encounter with him and then had to fight him. That's rough." Scion said, "I've had to fight a few friends as well."

"Well…I thought it would be hard. But, the thing about fighting a friend, or someone I knew, reminded of when I tried to give Lacus back to ZAFT and what you said to me. You told me I can't put one life above others. It makes a lot of sense to me now, more then it did before. So when we fought I just kept reminding myself that I had to put the lives of the ship above the lives of Andrew."

Scion murmured something along a good job but Kira couldn't make it out. Kira then explained how they then made for the sea and the attacks by the Sea Zaft forces from Carpentaria and how he fought underwater.

"What about you? You must have a story since you got a whole new machine." Kira stated.

"Well, sort of. I feel out of the sky, fell into a lake, came here, and through a certain number of ordeals I won't divulge in I came into possession of this machine." Scion said as he stood up, " Well, I think I've been outside for long enough. I should be going."

Kira nodded to him and so Scion took it as an okay to leave.

"Scion?"

"Yeah?" Scion answered Kira, without turning around.

"Did you have to kill your friend?"

"…..Yeah."

"I see…."

"We both had your paths and we followed them. We believed our paths and put our lives on the line. I know that he doesn't hold it against me. If you do the same, you won't be betraying him." Scion finished as he left the Upper Deck. When he was successfully away from Kira's sight he closed his eyes.

_If only I could believe my own words…._

_----------_

**February 14, C.E. 71**

**Orb Union, Onogoro Island. Morgenroete, 5:20P.M.**

"So this is it? The famed machine of Takashi?" Erica Simmons said as she stood in front of the battered remains of Revolution, with a headset on her head.

"Yeah, but ma'am. Can I ask who Takashi is?" Shigen asked through his mic, as was retrieving all of its combat data.

"He…was the man who had my job before he left. Before that he was a Scientist of the PLANTS." Erica said after a long pause. Her voice carried a heavy resentment along with a cutting edge. They obviously did not get along when they knew each other.

"No way? He was a Coordinator and lived in the PLANTS? Why did he leave the PLANTS?"

Erica shrugged her shoulders down below and walked over to a terminal that was receiving all of the data from the machine, which would then feed it to her personal computer to be looked at thoroughly.

"No real reason was given. There is only a rumor of some bad history, but its all sketchy. Of course those rumors only come from the fact that he was so paranoid. In fact…I'm surprised he passed his machine unto someone and didn't just blow it up."

"Why? Doesn't he trust people?" Shigen asked as he finalized the data retrieval.

"Nope, not even me when I was under him. He didn't trust anyone. His old computer is still in my office and it is STILL under an intense firewall protection and I can't think of a password, that's how paranoid he is." Erica stated humorously. After a moment of thinking though she recalled something.

" But, now that you mention it he mentioned something about having a debt to someone, when I asked him about it he muttered something about an infant. He was the most bizarre man I've ever met in my life…but also one of the most brilliant."

"Really? Do you know what he did before he came do Orb?" Shigen questioned once more as he came down from the machine and regarded the computer as the data ran through it.

"I believe it was surgery and a highly complicated form of it as well. Never saw any official documents though." She answered, "Well, good job Shigen. You are free for the day. I'm going to be here for a while and direct the repairs on this machine…probably be here for a couple hours." Erica said with a heavy sigh.

Shigen nodded briskly and took off to find a computer terminal, to obtain the location of Scion's upgrade for his machine. He stopped in the first computer lab and activated it to find out any information. Putting the disk in it ran a number of automatic searches and found nothing on its records. Shigen guessed that the file must be on a separate server.

"_His old computer is still in my office and it is STILL under an intense firewall protection and I can't think of a password, that's how paranoid he is." _

Scion turned in his chair slowly and thought it over. To break into Erica's room was a big deal. Couldn't he just tell her about the disc? No, Takashi's computer might have more information then just the upgrade…stuff to remain hidden for all time. He had to go solo…but if he was caught….

_Come on, Shigen! Remember your brother? Do whatever you have to do protect Orb. Scion wants to fight against the EA and ZAFT so that means he will protect Orb's Neutrality if it is threatened! If I do this then he owes me and I can assure his help….you've got to do it…for Orb._

So Shigen quickly raced down the hall, made a right and then another. The hall way was a dead end at this point but his destination was the last door on the left. He kept looking over his shoulder and was thankful to find that everyone must be observing the machine in the hanger.

With a small bit of hacking, thanks to great technical skills gained from OS building, he got in with ease and with no alarm going off. He didn't note anything about the room as he quickly raced over to the oldest computer with a big sticky note that said 'Paranoid old fool!' It was obviously his.

The computer came on and came to a blank screen with a search engine present. When something was typed in it asked for a password. Shigen deleted his last entry and entered the disk, it ran a number of search words and found one valid file. The problem was that it needed a password.

_Oh great! I thought the disc would get me in! Damn it! Okay okay…what word….what word…._

Shigen cursed loudly as he rummaged about in his head for a word. Then he thought of something, it was a long shot but he would try it.

"Revolution….."

**Incorrect Password**

"Damn it…what about…no, that's too simple." Shigen sighed and typed the lame word in, "Dream."

**Correct Entry, File uploading.**

"What! Are you kidding me! That's it?" Shigen quickly shut himself up and began loading the file unto the disc with the search words, to safely be able to look at it later. When it was done downloading he reached for the off button but something caught his eye.

"The password…it unlocked everything!" Shigen was in shock as he skimmed over all the files. Most were just junk, bits and pieces of deleted things that couldn't be gotten rid of when a program was deleted. But, there was something there, a project of some kind."

_Wonder what project he was working on? _Shigen opened the file and the information began to display in front of him. He read a little to get a summary…but the more he read the more he couldn't stop and the more he couldn't stop the more fear his face showed. He put hand over his mouth to stop from gagging but continued to read nonetheless.

After a moment Shigen couldn't read anymore but he had to find out if it ever came to a success, he skimmed all the way down and in two brief sentences gave the results of the project. It was all Shigen could take and he shut the machine down and ran from the room, unable to understand why such a thing was undertaken.

As he did so, a small hidden camera followed him out of the office…..

---------------------------------

**February 15, C.E. 71**

**Archangel, Lunch Area, 9:00 A.M.**

Scion sat in the lunch room with Kira and Flay. Sai, Mir, Tolle, and Kuzzey were on the other side of the lunch area. Evidently there was some tension between Sai and Kira but Scion wasn't sure why. Something to do with Flay he supposed.

Cagalli always ate in a separated place with Kisaka who was intent on keeping the girls secret a secret for good. The ship was still a good two days away from Orb and Scion had still no idea of how to get 'into' Orb. His crew members were sent off just an hour again with Scion promising to find them, and with a hint to go to Morgenroete. They understood what he meant. Their craft was smaller and faster then the Archangel and would be waiting there for Scion when he returned. If he did that is.

Meanwhile, Scion stared dumbly at the red haired girl , Flay, as she battered on to Kira about her hair or something and watched Kira forced to listen to this with a small smile. Scion had to admit she was pretty funny the way she complained all the time about the silliest things in the world. Scion wondered if Lacus would have been like that if they knew her in a formal matter.

"Hey, Scion. Why are you being so quiet?" Flay asked with a little bounce as she pointed her spoon at him. Ever since the day when he apologized Scion had somehow gotten unto her friends list. She didn't treat him like the others, like Kira she would actually talk to him when they passed by each other. When passing by Sai or Mir she would try to get by without saying anything. A strange girl at best.

"Oh, sorry. Just focusing on eating. Its good stuff, I'll have to tell the chef to make this more often." Scion lied to avoid a conversation with Flay since it often went to no where. Sometimes it sounded like Flay was forcing herself to speak to Kira and Scion, like she really didn't want to talk to them. It was never anything too noticeable and Kira never seemed to see it so Scion didn't bring it up.

_Come on, I need to get out of here. I'd rather face Athrun then listen to Flay all day!_

**ALL HANDS, LEVEL ONE BATTLE STATIONS! I REPEAT LEVEL ONE BATTLE STATIONS! ENGISN YAMATO, LIEUTENANT FLAGA, AND SCION KAZUMA REPORT TO THE HANGAR BAY!**

Everyone looked up at the ceiling and suddenly the lunch room was in a scramble. Sai and his group were the first to make it out but Scion made an honest effort to get down the rest of his food. Kira stood to leave and rushed for the door.

_I didn't mean it really! Damn it all!_

"Be careful, Kira!" Flay called out to him. Kira nodded with a smile and took off. It was then that Scion caught out of the corner of his eye a look of disgust and pure evil slip on her face. Scion watched it vanish as quickly as it came when she looked back at Scion with the worried look she had previously.

"You too, Scion. Look after Kira!" She asked as Scion stepped up on the table and down off the other end.

"Yeah. Someone has to protect him." Scion said bitterly and with edge. Scion would have like do question the female but it would have to wait until later. He had a fight with an angry ZAFT Pilot.

--------

**A/N: **Alright! I'm really surprised at the speed I got this out. It was very interesting to me, for some reason. it's a lot slower then the last chapter but it has a very nice scene which should have the rest of you thinking 'WTF', others may think they know. Well, you'll find out eventually, right? Yes. Lol.

Anyway, after thinking on it I decided that as the story goes on and things change, and some more things will occur that differs from the Anime, I will give more incite to the story. Some of you may worry that Kira doesn't get enough attention, well no worries! While he won't be in the spot light now, he and others will get more time as the story goes on.

Also, I would like to thank my reviewers once more for their support! And yes, Warp, I shall try not to overdo the Angst (XD) though it will probably remain a major character flaw in Scion for sometime to come, but bop me on the head if I go over. I actually thought people liked Shinn, darn. No one likes the more real characters, I always thought that Kira was unnatural with his need for peace, Lacus too. But then again, this is coming from a guy that makes a guy like Shinn, though he's driven by remorse and not anger.

Forgive me on typos this time. School starts tomorrow for me! I want to get this out before I get bogged down and forget to post this. I'll go back over it sometime in the future when I have time, so bear with me for the mistakes and I'm still cleaning up the previous chapters as well.

Anyway, I'll shut up. I should really make these shorter. Enjoy!

-Arc.


	22. The Crumbling Dream and Friendship

**Chapter 17: The Crumbling Dream**

_**Legend**_

_Italics shows character thoughts_

**Word shows Date, time, and location**

_**-Word- Shows Noises, or actions such as sighing**_

000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000

**February 17, C.E. 71**

**Archangel Upper Front Deck, 2:00 P.M.**

"Damn it!" Scion spat out as he fired off another beam round at the Blitz before it passed under the Archangel.

"Scion, above you!" Kira yelled, prompting the pilot to look above and see the Duel approaching. Scion took aim with the beam magnum.

"Take this!" Scion fired a rapid volley, the magnum not having the same precise targeting system of the rifle, to repel the Duel who avoided all of the shots and returned with his own missile volley.

_This is ridiculous! Two days of near constant fighting! _Scion complained in his head as he covered Kira's right side where the Blitz had reappeared and tried to launch an attack.

The Archangel had come under repeated attacks by the Zala team, consisting of the Duel, Buster, Blitz, and Aegis. With their own base a submarine they could easily retreat and make new attacks whenever and however they chose. On the other side was the Archangel who could only wait and hope they had enough time to repair their damages. But it proved useless. While the ZAFT forces had only four machines that couldn't be hurt by anything less then beam fire, the Archangel crew had a ship, two machines, and a sky-grasper to make repairs too.

The crew had been stretched to its limits and Scion was beginning to regret his choice to send his own men off to Orb. Kira, Mu, and Scion were all feeling the same pressure of being called to battle, each were running on low sleep and even less time to eat. It was more obvious with Scion and Mu but even in Kira would could see a slowing down of ability in these fights.

The Archangel was smoking from several places and the number of injured men was rising at an incredible rate, the crew was quickly losing its ability to make repairs. And Scion's machine was in the same shape because Scion couldn't let the crew near it because of Orb's secrets and even if they wanted to they couldn't fix it because of their lack of knowledge about it, it was different then the Strike. So once more did Scion find himself handicapped in a damaged machine.

"The Aegis!" Scion called out. It had just dodged two shots from the Archangels **Valients** and was now approaching quickly.

"I've got it!" Kira responded as he boosted to meet his friend in combat. They met in the air and began an aerial dog fight.

Scion had been very unwilling to meet Athrun in battle again but, be it luck or not, Kira had taken every attempt for the two to meet away. Scion believed it was the advice he told Kira a few days back, it was then made apparent to Scion, with a little help from Mu who spoke to him the day he returned, that Kira looked up to him as a kind of elder brother, since Scion too piloted a Gundam. It put a sense of duty in Scion to protect Kira, who was still unsure of his own path in things.

"Scion, the Duel is approaching! We are going to fire the Gottfrieds, prepare to intercept if we can repel the enemy!" Mir informed him again.

"Roger!" Scion took a glancing shot at the Blitz as it made its rounds again. The Blitz fired off another shot at the Archangel, rocking the ship with the explosions caused by the repeated attacks. The Archangel's fired the **Gottfrieds **after the Duel dodged it Scion went straight for him, hoping to catch him off guard.

"Take this!" Scion yelled as he pulled his beam saber from its shoulder holster, having left his rifle back on the ships deck.

"Nice try, Natural!" The pilot, who from listening to the ZAFT pilots talk, had come to be known as Yzak.

The two machines met in the air, the Duel jumping from its Guul to engage the Clarity. Their beam sabers clashed. They pulled away and the Duel fired off its **Shiva** 115mm Railgun. Clarity, zipped around the fire and attacked the Duels left with another strike of its saber. The Duel parried and kicked the Clarity away from it.

"Hah, you aren't half the pilot the Strike is!" Yzak taunted as he watched the Clarity return to the Archangel while it returned to its Guul, but not without heavy fire from its rail gun and missile launcher. The Clarity avoided all of the shots, but because of that the shots instead hit the Archangel, increasing the damage.

_Damn it, he's right. This machine is just too different…plus I hadn't realized how much I rely on the funnels and the psycho-frame to close the gap for my lack of skill. If only I had Revolution I would be more useful!_

Clarity retrieved its beam magnum and proceeded to blast away at the Duel from a distance, to keep it away from the Archangel.

_**-BOOOOOOOOOM-**_

The Archangel was suddenly rocked by a crushing shot from the Buster as it got by Mu La Flaga and peppered the port side with beam fire. Scion turned to deliver fire just as the Duel and Blitz regrouped and launched a volley of beam fire and missiles, courtesy of the Duel Assualt Shroud. The attack sent Scion's borrowed machine back unto its rear from the percussions.

"**This is a Warning for the Earth Forces Ship and ZAFT forces currently approaching." **A live communication was relied to both sides of the battle. **"You are currently approaching the territory of the Orb Union. Alter your course at once! As a nuetral nation we strictly prohibit trespassing into our territory by any armed ship, aircraft, or mobile suit!"**

"Christ, we don't need this!" Scion yelled angrily as fired once more at the Blitz and Duel who were now concentrating on taking the Archangel down. The Buster was occupied by Mu, and the Strike had just returned from a bout with Athrun.

The Orb forces repeated their warnings before cutting their communication. Scion looked at the Strike before returning fire once more to the engaging mobile suits.

_What are you going to do now….Cagalli…_

_-------------_

**Onogoro Island, Orb Council Meeting Room, 2:20 P.M.**

"Lord Uzumi…" An attendant whispered into the Chairman of Orb's ear. "We have confirmed the Clarity and obviously the pilot of Takashi's machine. Also…we have some interesting information concerning Takashi's computer."

The Lord of Orb watched the battle continue to take place, it was already decided to harbor the Archangel and its crew. The plan was being carried out but his work was not done. The more dangerous, and interesting, work was yet to be done.

"I see, has the information been passed on according to the agreement?" Uzumi asked as he folded his hands on the table in front of him, watching the surveillance show the bombardment of the Archangel and the ZAFT forces.

"Yes…it has been transmitted. But, what good does it do sir? We don't know what is on the computer terminal...it-" The attendant was stopped by the raised hand of Lord Uzumi.

"Whatever it is, is not our concern. I do this only as a favor to Takashi. Just do your job and have the Archangel Ranking officers report to see me….along with Scion Kazuma."

---------

**Onogoro Island, Hidden Hangar, Archangel, 3:30 P.M.**

"I can't believe Orb took us in." Scion muttered under his breath in the locker room.

Kira, Mu, and Scion were all removing their pilot suits after the battle on the ocean. After the Archangel was struck by a blast from the Buster and the Aegis while in its Mobile Armor form they thought all was lost when the Archangel was bombarded by the Orb Fleet. It turned out to just be a hoax though and Scion was beginning to get ancy with the fact. He got a feeling he would be in a difficult situation very soon.

"Tell me about it, I thought Orb was supposed to be Neutral. It has to be because of this Ship and the Strike being built in Orb." Mu La Flaga thought aloud.

"Well, maybe they just wanted to help us?" Kira asked as he closed his locker and turned around to the two older pilots. Mu and Scion looked at Kira, then each other, then Kira again. They shook their heads and closed their lockers as well.

"I wish it could be that simple." Mu muttered under his breath.

"Orb is Neutral Kira and it stands by that very firmly. Believe me, I know all about Orb and its council members from an employer I had a little under a year ago. Orb doesn't make exceptions without good reason."

_I just wish I knew more about who supported Takashi..._

Kira seemed sad at the prospect of the Orb Union wanting something from the Archangel but at this point in the war he couldn't rule out that it was probably right. Even though he worked for Morgenroete in Heliopolis he never really thought that the nation would help the Earth Forces to begin with., but here they were.

The door to the lockers opened up and an Orb Soldier stepped in and saluted to the three. "I have orders to escort Lieutenant Flaga and Scion Kazuma to his Lord Uzumi for a meeting, you will be joining Captain Ramius and Lieutenant Badgiruel."

"Why is Scion needed?" Mu and Kira asked almost at the same time.

"I'm just following orders, sir." The Soldier replied.

"Do you know Lord Uzumi, Scion?" Mu asked as he fixed his collar and walked past Scion who was pulling on his civilian clothes as slowly as he could.

"Never met the man in my life."

-------

**Onogoro Island, Council Meeting Room, 4:00 P.M.**

Scion, Murrie, Natarle, and Mu were all seated as soon as they arrived in the chambers of Lord Uzumi, Chairman of Orb. Murrie and Natarle stared at Scion when he entered with Mu, several minutes after they arrived. When questioned about his presence Scion just shook his head and shrugged. At least this time he wasn't lying about now knowing what was going on.

After a ten minute stretch of silence the Leader of Orb emerged from his quarters and sat down across from the four.

Scion couldn't help but notice that Uzumi's gaze was quick to identify him and after regarding him especially he regarded the others. Once introductions were given the meeting began.

"As you know our nation, Orb, is neutral." Uzumi began.

"Yes." Captain Ramius replied.

"Officially, it is reported that our military forces supposedly chased your ship from our territorial waters." The man stated, with his hands on top of one another on the table between the two parties.

"I see.." Murrie again replied.

"The reason you saved us isn't because we had your daughter on board, is it?" Mu asked, with an interest for the reason behind their saving.

"Do you think that I can even compare this country's fate to one spoiled daughter?" He snapped back flatly.

"Excuse me for implying that." Mu responded in apology.

"Things would be so much easier if it were as simple as that." Uzumi said, excusing Mu with his tone of voice.

"The case with Heliopolis, "He continued, " Children of this nation who got involved and volunteered as soldiers. The achievements of the X-Numbers in one battle after another. I thought it over many times…whether it would have been wiser to just save the people and leave that ship and mobile suit. To this moment I don't know if the right decision was made." He ended with a tired sigh.

"I'm very sorry, "Murrie stated," For Heliopolis and the children. I'd just like to say that as an individual, I am very sorry for what happened."

"Forget it, we are as much at fault for what happened, since that's an internal problem of our nation." Uzumi started as he explained the reason his country is neutral and how gaining power to protect themselves and enforce their intents also makes them a potential target while giving them the power to defend themselves. It was the vicious cycle of war.

"In any case, we must explain to you the reason we didn't sink your ship." Lord Uzumi began. "We hope to obtain from you the Strike's combat data up to this point and have you lend us its pilot, the Coordinator Kira Yamato. In return we would help with the repairs for your ship." Uzumi said. He looked at the crew as they sat in shock at the demands. He then turned his gaze to Scion.

"And of course, we would have your cooperation as well, Kazuma."

"Why should I help Orb?" Scion said.

"Think of it as payment for letting the charges against you slide." Lord Uzumi said plainly.

"And what charges would that be?" Scion asked sarcastically.

"Oh, the stealing of two Orb machines, damaging both, bring both back here for repairs, and for everything you've done to date." Uzumi stated flatly, once more.

"And if I refuse?" Scion asked, once more, feeling the pressure of the mans casual nature in this tense situation.

"Then we will arrest you for the charges you committed towards Orb and the actions again Mankind."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Yes, you do. Do not think I am blind, Mr. Kazuma. I would hate for certain secrets to get out…I want you to continue to try and make up for them. So, help Orb and we will let all your offenses slide." Uzumi ended.

"I don't owe Orb for anything other then repairs..."

"That man worked to realize a dream. Are you his successor forsaking that dream!" Lord Uzumi watched as Scion stood quickly and after glaring at Uzumi, for forcing Scion's hand, left the conference room.

"Sir, what…just happened? Do you know him?" Captain Ramius asked.

"No, not him. But I know what he has done and the man who's machine he uses. That man and his successor are both people stemmed in mystery. They reek of it." Uzumi answered.

"Why do you want him to help Orb so badly? Not to talk bad about him, but, Kira is a better pilot then Scion." Mu commented sadly.

"Because, like Takashi before him, Scion possesses something that I believe can change the course of history. It's in his eyes, the look of defiance. No, I want his help because I see him doing something great in this time of chaos…because he thrives in Chaos."

"Thrives?" Mu asked, confused.

"Yes. There are those that live best in peace, when we feel safe and completely at ease. We live doing simple things and long for something nothing more, it is people like us who can not take the burden of war and must band together to weather it. But, Scion, is one that cannot grow to his full potential without the struggle, the push, living on the edge of a knife where ever decision is a life and death choice. It is people like that can bask in chaos that can really bring it to an end, because it is also they that begin that chaos." Uzumi stated with a sad demeanor. When Murrie asked further questions, she was cut off and told to return to the Archangel to over see the repairs that would take three or four days at the least.

-----------

**February 18, C.E. 71**

**Onogoro Island, Morgenroete, 7:20 A.M.**

"Shigen?" A worker called out from below.

Shigen appeared from inside the Revolution, clad in the orange suit of a Morgenroete worker. He waved to show the worker where he was.

"A Scion Kazuma is here to see you." He responded while pointing to the lobby area where council members would normally stay.

Shigen quickly disembarked and then strode over to the lounge area and, just like was said, Scion sat in the room in what appeared to be a very uncomfortable mood. When Scion noticed him he waved and stood, some of his discomfort gone.

"I'm surprised you aren't under arrest." Shigen said with a chuckle. Scion only shot a glare and briefly explained the 'terms' for his release.

"So, Kira and I brought our machines, or his and Orb's, just now and I came to find you and my machine." Scion ended his story. Shigen nodded and the two quickly returned to Revolution, where the massive machine stood in all of its glory, minus the funnels.

"We have your workers, that came a day ago, working on creating new ones to replace the destroyed funnels. But, I suppose you'll want to see the upgrade, right?" Shigen asked, not needing an answer from Scion to know what to do.

The two rose on a platform and Scion sat himself inside. Scion went through the booting sequence and then began running a diagnostics. The text filtered down the screen as Scion checked for anything odd that Orb might have done to Revolution.

Shigen coughed at the act of mistrust and decided to speak of the upgrade, "Well, its for the Psycho-Frame. A rather vast upgrade too. The range, response speed, it even has an AI that takes after you to give the funnels command should you stop giving commands for a few seconds." Shigen summarized on the upgrade as Scion scanned through the rest of his machines specifications.

"Shigen, I have to go to Alaska, for the Archangel and to get my hands on the next upgrade. Plus, I think it might do me some good to try and get some influence in the EA. I'll need you to stay here and just keep an eye out. Once I'm done paying back my debt to the Archangel I'm going to return here and make my next move." Scion summarized quickly.

Shigen nodded and the two began talking briefly on other subjects while leaving the Hangar bay and returning to the lobby, to be a little more comfortable. They had a lot of planning to do and they needed all the time the could get.

----------

**Onogoro Island, Morgenroete, 730 A.M.**

Kira sat behind a computer in the middle of the Morgonroete office as he watched another trial run of the M1 Astray's the Orb Union was creating. Before attempting to make an full OS he wanted to observe them more closer, or that was what he told Cagalli. The truth was that he was avoiding the subject of his parents and having one of his classmates bring it up.

He glanced down at his computer screen and made a small note of a difficulty the M1 pilots were having with their machine and made sure he would remember it later. He then looked around the office, Cagalli and Erica were watching the M1's run through their programs.

Cagalli looked over her shoulder at Kira and sighed deeply, Kira following suit. They were both worried about Scion. He was supposed to be with them after bringing in the Strike and Clarity but he vanished and Erica refused to tell them anything. Cagalli told Kira they had met before but neither of them thought that Scion had any past relations with Morgenroete, but it only made sense if the Clarity was Orb's to begin with.

_Why does it seem that Scion has his hand in everything that goes on around him? It's almost as if he is drawn to points of mystery and conflict._

"Hey, Kira." Cagalli said as he walked towards her friend, patting his shoulder.

"Hi, Cagalli. Just a few more notes." Kira responded.

"Take your time…Kira. I want to find Scion and find out what he is doing separately then us anyway." She leaned over beside him and spoke softly into his ear, "Erica still won't say anything but she did let something slip about Scion meeting my father…something is going on." Cagalli stated.

Kira looked at his female companion and nodded before returning to his work, "I see. I'd like to say I know Scion and know that he's okay but…truth is I hardly know anything about him. He's always keeping to himself even when he's talking to me. And if you look at everything that I've seen and you've seen…he defiantly can't just be a mercenary for hire."

"I know, the problem is getting him to talk about what his real intentions are." Cagalli murmured. Kira looked at Cagalli wondering if she knew something that he didn't.

"Well, I'm going to take a break so why not come with me to look while I'm off?" Kira asked. Cagalli quickly agreed and walked off together.

The kids went to the cafeteria and sat down with a drink and snack. The two silently ate, both thinking of their duties and of eachother, and obviously of Scion. It wasn't that they didn't trust Scion it was more that they couldn't trust Scion. The man was simply too secretive.

"Hey, Kira. The first machine that Scion had, can you describe it?" Cagalli asked.

Kira nodded and went about telling her what he saw and knew about the machine. The scheme, abilities that were apprant, and other things he noted. Cagalli listened closely as if trying to put something together, like a puzzle.

"Okay, thanks Kira."

"Why do you need to know?" Kira asked.

"I know that Scion worked for someone named Takashi, he was doing some work that I tried to get out of him when we first met. I think that the first machine is his." Cagalli answered.

"Well, its in Morgenroete so we should be able to find something..."

"I'm going to find Scion, you should come find me after you're done. We need to confront you." Cagalli stated, after finishing her break food and drink.

-------

Erica sighed contently with the absence of the children, Kira and Cagalli. She turned to the M1's and told the girls to come back inside. She then walked out the side office and into her own space where she tapped on her laptop, bringing it out of hibernation.

"Well, I'll thank you for this Scion. Even if we never got our hands on Kira Yamato your combat data has helped us make something of an OS." Erica said as she sat down with a cup of coffee. It had taken her a long time to go over the data, from Scion using the Revolution in training to combat to fighting the other Prototype.

Unlike the Strike's data there were some abnormalities that occurred to her. For everything that the Strike did, for every great achievement, for all the brilliant feats it performed could all be explained by one word. Coordinator. Kira was a coordinator and his ability was in his Genetic code, Erica assumed that Kira would probably be a genius even among his own kind.

But for Scion things weren't as clear. He was a natural, his abilities were unmodified as far as his birth records could tell. It didn't make sense why he performed so well. When his OS that he used to such great effect would work for him, but when copied and reused in a new machine the results were less then spectacular.

There was just too many things that a natural couldn't do, there was too much growth, too many unnatural feats, reflexes, and other things that couldn't be explained.

Erica eventually put Scion's unnatural ability as the result of two things, one the Psycho-Frame which uses mental ability to make the user more aware of themselves and their surroundings. But for Scion's ability to be based solely on that it would mean that Scion had a tremendous amount of Mental Awareness, greater then most humans.

But that kind of Mental ability was not probable so Erica assumed that it was a post-traumatic effect. Orb found out that Scion was a former EA soldier and what he did in his service, the battle data also revealed the destruction of Takashi's lab, along with smaller other occurrences. Erica theorized that these rapid massive events caused a kind of primal trigger in Scion, where fighting and survival have become all he is. To protect himself his mind has taken in only fighting, survival, and struggle. Basically it was stating that Scion was a man who could only think of fighting to survive and by thinking solely of that he could excel.

But, even if these idea's were true it didn't fully explain the man Scion Kazuma. While most of the mysteries were open to her, there was still a lot that wasn't. His past was foggy, something about his childhood didn't fit…

----------------

**Onogoro Island, Morgenroete, 6:30 P.M.**

"Finally! I found you!"

"Hmm?"

Cagalli, after leaving Kira to work on the OS several hours back, had been looking for a sign of Scion. To finally confront him on some things. To finally get some answers without taking no for the answer! She had finally found him as he wandered about the Morgenroete area after asking someone if they had seen a man with red eyes.

"I've been looking all over for you." Cagalli said as she stomped over to Scion.

"For what?" Came Scion's quick answer.

"To talk to you! What do you think? I told you I'd be back to get some answers!"

"**_-Sigh- _**Cagalli…" He turned his back on her and sighed again, "Look. I want you to stop pestering me. Its not any of your business."

Scion began to walk away from the Princess of Orb but found his right arm in Cagalli's firm grip. He refused to look at her, hoping she'd get the hint to leave him alone. He admired her for her strength but he wasn't going to trust in her anymore then he felt like.

"Will you stop it! Let some people help you!" She demanded of him. "Stop being so closed in!"

"Don't to me like that Cagalli!" Scion suddenly snapped back, "Not everything is as simple as you see it! You're just to naïve to understand how this world works, so don't start going around trying to protect people!"

"I help people who are important to me!" Cagalli snapped back just as venomously.

"Important? You don't know me at all! And what can you protect when all you do is fight! Do you think that fighting the enemy is going to stop the war? Do you think pestering me is going to make me confide in you! That's not how the world works!"

"Well then how does it work, mister know it all?" Cagalli asked.

"It doesn't work, that's the point. The world has never worked…not sincee humans have learned to think for themselves and of themselves. We have always fought one another…and probably always will." Scion answered, returning to his normal cool state.

"So you think this war can't end? That no matter what we do we can't stop it?"

_I wish there was...I want to believe there is a way Cagalli..._

"No! We can't! I wanted to believe I could do something! I wanted to think, just like you do now, that if I tried hard enough I could do something to stop this war! But the more you fight the more you realize something…you can't do it by yourself, you have to have support. The people must support you!"

"I won't stand for that! There must be a way to end the war! People don't want to fight this war!" Cagalli cried.

"Listen to yourself babble on! When your friend Ahmed died, what did you do! You went and fought the Desert Tiger for revenge! You are being a hypocrite!" Scion yelled at her, directly in the face in hopes that it would get to her.

"No…I…"

"No, buts. You killed them because they killed a friend."

"No, that's not why--!"

Scion gripped Cagalli's arms suddenly and hushed her with a strong glare, "Yes. This is why we can't end the war by simply fighting. Cagalli, you can't protect people because by doing that you kill other people who are important to someone else who will then become your enemy."

"There has to be a way…" Cagalli whispered, looking towards the ground as Scion released her. She hugged herself tightly as Scion ran his right hand through his hair and turned his back on her.

"Only one way left at this point."

Cagalli looked at the back of Scion's head . The man in front of her fisted both of his hands and then uncurled them as if trying to release something from himself.

"And that…is for something monstrous to happen." Scion muttered, "So monstrous that thousands of people die, so people just lose the will to fight.

_What! _Cagalli screamed in her head. She shook her head and ran around to the other side to face Scion directly who looked at her dejectedly. "You can't mean that!"

"Yes, I do. If I were to kill this entire nation of Orb…you would surrender. Because your will would be taken from you. With who things are going…" Scion looked up towards the sky, "Things can only get worse before they get better."

"I don't believe that."

Scion turned to face Kira now, who had caught up like Cagalli asked. He walked up to Scion and stood directly in front of him, defiant and headstrong.

"Does it matter what any of us believes? What matters is the truth." Scion said.

"If we stop fighting then the war will end."

"Really? When you didn't want to use the Strike did the fighting stop? No, you were attacked and the only reason you are alive today is because you...fought." Scion answered.

"Its true. That I fought to protect my friends and I hurt a lot of people lately, but I don't like this war. I want this war to end more then anything." Kira put a hand over his heart, "Ever since this war has started, I've felt nothing but pain! The only people that have cared about me has been Flay and Cagalli."

"Hahahaha...Pain." Scion muttered with a laugh, before lifting his head up and looking down at Kira, "What do you know about pain!" Scion yelled at Kira angerly.

"Scion stop it!" Cagalli yelled, feeling that this was turning into another fight.

"I have felt pain! This war brings nothing but pain!"

"You don't know what pain is! You don't know anything about pain!"

"I know enough to hope for an end." Kira stated coldly, feeling the respect for Scion slipping.

"And I know enough to know that that is only a crumbling dream." Scion responded.

It was a battle of two men forced into a world where fighting was the only answer. One a kind and innocent person torn by the war and the other a man who threw himself into chaos and quickly realized the true face of war. It was a battle destined to come and come it did.

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A/N: Alright, Sorry about the delay. I blame this delay on two things, the starting of a new story, and the fact that I didn't like this chapter to much. It was like one of those flashback episodes only not flashbacks but stuff that may not be so interesting. The next chapter though, has a very BIG scene that should cause quite the interest. Hint: It will be a fight. So look out for it!

Anyway, I'm now juggling two stories so the updates will come slower but I'm determined to get to the end of SEED and start a DESTINY fic, though might not until I see all the episodes of Destiny.

As always, thanks for the reviews by everyone! School has started back so that should also slow me a bit. I hope to have an update every week to week and a half. Sorry in advance for typos as well.

-Arc.


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